Consumer acceptance of social robots in domestic settings: A human-robot interaction perspective

Abstract

Consumer acceptance of social robots in retail and service settings is an emerging field in marketing research. Social Home Robots (e.g., Jibo, Cozmo, and Kuri) serving various groups in domestic settings show significant retail and consumer service potential. However, most current research focuses on social robots that serve older or disabled individuals in domestic settings, leaving a gap in understanding consumer acceptance of Social Home Robots, particularly across different cultures. From the Human-Robot Interaction perspective, this article examines consumers' intentions to use Social Home Robots through a sequential mixed-method approach. Our findings indicate that consumers' intentions to use these robots are primarily influenced by key factors in Human-Robot Interaction: belief in social robot benefits, concern about privacy risks, trust, the robots' overall anthropomorphic design, and consumers' self-construal tendency. Furthermore, trust mediates the relationships between belief in social support, privacy concerns, independent self-construal, and usage intention. This study explores consumer acceptance of social robots serving diverse groups rather than special groups in domestic settings, contributing to the literature on social/service robots. It also offers business guidelines for designing and marketing Social Home Robots in retail.