PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the influence of technology visibility and subsequent perceptions of VFRs on consumers' intention to adopt VFRs in the online shopping context. A cross-cultural comparison was conducted to examine the different relationships among technology visibility, consumer perceptions and adoption intentions between the Chinese and Korean consumers.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 306 Chinese and 324 Korean consumers. The data were empirically analysed using structural equation modelling as well as multi-group comparisons.FindingsEmpirical results suggest significant influence of technology visibility on consumers' experiential and functional perceptions towards VFRs and accordingly on their adoption intention towards VFRs. Significant differences were also revealed between the Chinese and Korean consumers in their adoption behaviours towards VFRs.Research limitations/implicationsThe comparison was only conducted between the Chinese and Korean consumers. If two countries from two dramatically different cultures were compared, the results might be more significant.Practical implicationsAn important implication is that enhancement of visibility is crucial for technology adoption considering its importance in shaping consumers' perceptions towards the technology.Originality/valueThe paper empirically tested the importance of technology visibility in consumers' new technology adoption in the VFR context from a cross-cultural perspective.