About this Research Topic

Background

Sport consumer experience in the digital era has undergone significant changes due to the emergence of various digital technologies. With the advent of mobile and wearable technologies, augment/virtual reality (AR/VR), and metaverse, different digital technologies are expected to continue to impact the way that consumers experience sport products and services in the future. Meanwhile, sport consumers have increasing expectations of their experiences from physically and technologically mediated environments, affecting their attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors.

For example, wearable fitness technology (WFT) can improve exercisers’ experience by increasing social interaction, gamification, and accountability. Moreover, mobile applications are designed for in-stadium spectators to enhance their experiences by providing more game-related content, enjoyment, and social interactions during the game. In addition, since the outbreak of COVID-19, sport consumers have increasingly followed fitness celebrities and watched fitness videos uploaded to YouTube channels or joined live fitness sessions on live-streaming platforms.

Although technology may offer many benefits to consumers, this does not always translate into positive consumer experiences. Sport consumer experience is a broad concept encompassing multiple dimensions, including consumers' cognitive, affective, behavioral, sensory, and social responses to technologies applied to sport products and services in the digital era. Given the complexity of sport consumer experience, it is essential to understand how technologies can be used to enhance or detract from the overall consumer experience. This requires a comprehensive understanding of sport consumer behavior in the digital era, including their attitudes, motivations and behaviors towards different digital technologies, as well as the impact of these technologies on their overall sport consumption experience. Such knowledge can help sport businesses and organizations to design more effective marketing strategies, tailor their products and services to meet the needs and expectations of their customers, and ultimately improve customer satisfaction and loyalty in the digital era.

This research topic aims to curate a collection of articles (Original Research, Case Reports, Reviews, Conceptual research, General Commentaries and Perspectives) that will advance knowledge about sport consumer experience in the digital era. Topics of interest may include, but are not limited to:
 Design and management of sport consumer experience in the digital era.
 Sport consumers’ usage and consumption of new digital technologies.
 Sport consumers’ engagement within digital platforms.
 Business analytics and sport consumer experience.
 The contribution and impact of new digital technologies on sport consumer experience.
 The role of technology companies in changing the sport consumer experience (e.g., digital communications driven by technology companies, provision of immersive environments by technology companies, and network externalities created by technology companies)
 eSport consumer experience (including both participants and spectators).
 A systematic review of understanding digital transformation in sport consumer behavior.
 Innovative methodology in exploring sport consumer experiences and digital technologies.
 Advances in theory and practice of digital marketing/consumer engagement.

Keywords: Sport, consumer experience, consumer behavior, digital technology, innovation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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