Unleashing the Potential: Investigating the Effects of an Extended Museum Visit Concept on Visitor Experience and Behavior : A Case Study on Using AR Technology to Extend the Museum Visit

Abstract: Museums contribute to the cultural landscape of a country. To attract visitors, museums should embrace new technology and constantly expand their offerings. This projects desired outcome was to develop a post-visit experience that would enhance visitor satisfaction, increase the likelihood of revisits, and encourage visitors to share their experiences with others. The design concept heavily relied on the principles of Experience Economy theory. In the proposed study, visitors at Tekniska museet in Stockholm got to, for 48 hours, farm a cell at home using an Augmented Reality (AR)-based smartphone application. The proposed application’s effectiveness was compared to that of visitors who did not utilize the application during the same 48-hour period. However, based on the study’s findings, there was no statistically significant improvement in overall satisfaction, short-term or long-term revisit intentions, or word-of-mouth intentions among the participants who engaged with the AR experience. Several factors could have contributed to this outcome, such as suboptimal user experience within the application, technical difficulties, and the limited duration of the testing period. Nevertheless, the results did indicate a positive attitude toward the general concept of "bringing the museum home." This suggests that museums should further explore the potential of such approaches, despite the specific implementation in this study not yielding the desired outcomes.