Alexa, what's on my shopping list? Transforming customer experience with digital voice assistants

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is disrupting the retail industry. Digital voice assistants as one of the most popular AI technologies are poised to revolutionize consumers’ shopping journeys yet we have a sparse understanding of their role in fostering customer experience. The present study seeks to address this issue by proposing and validating a research model encompassing human-like attributes (i.e., perceived anthropomorphism, perceived animacy, and perceived intelligence), technology attributes (i.e., performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and perceived security), and contextual factors (i.e., social influence and facilitating conditions) as the antecedents to continuance usage of digital voice assistants to shop. The effects are facilitated by the formation of several perceptual-based outcomes such as parasocial interactions, smart-shopping perception, and AI-enabled customer experience. Data (n = 411) was collected through an online questionnaire-based survey and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. The results indicated (i) all human-like and technology attributes, except effort expectancy, have a significant impact on parasocial interactions, (ii) perceived intelligence, perceived security, and performance expectancy significantly influence smart-shopping perception, (iii) parasocial interactions and smart-shopping perception foster AI-enabled customer experience, and (iv) AI-enabled customer experience and social influence determine the continuance intention to shop using digital voice assistants. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.