The transformative impact of digitalization on consumer experience now necessitates a multidimensional approach. Foundational theories and concepts in the literature—such as the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989), the Experience Economy (Pine & Gilmore, 1999), Experiential Marketing (Schmitt, 1999), and the Customer Journey Theory (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016)—have been reinterpreted in digital contexts. As a result, digitalization has shifted the marketplace from physical environments to an omnichannel, emotionally engaging, and co-created ecosystem through digital touchpoints.

These digital touchpoints—websites, social media platforms, AR/VR applications, chatbots, and mobile apps—have turned the consumer experience into a dynamic and interactive process. Despite the richness these technologies bring to consumer engagement, chatbots and AR/VR systems also introduce new areas of responsibility concerning trust, ethics, and privacy.

In this chapter, the importance of emerging themes such as the “redefinition of the human touch,” “digital trust,” “empathetic artificial intelligence,” and “authenticity” is discussed in relation to their implications for practitioners and future research.