Impulse Purchase Intention in an AI-mediated Retail Environment: Extending the TAM with Attitudes Towards Technology and Innovativeness

Abstract

Researchers and retailers alike need to know how customers feel about artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technologies in the light of the increasing number of retail-tech hybrids driven by AI. The current research set out to gauge interest in and willingness to buy an AI-powered product in a retail environment. Determinants related to AI-based customer attitude and impulse purchase intention were theorised by drawing from the literature. The model was empirically tested with structured questionnaires using a representative sample of 354 customers chosen from the modern-trade retail industry in Sri Lanka. The findings suggest that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use related to AI and attitudes towards technology significantly and positively impact the impulse purchase intention. Interestingly, consumer innovativeness strengthens the relationship between attitudes towards AI and impulse purchase intention, but does not influence the relationship between attitudes towards technology and impulse purchase intention. The study provides theoretical and practical insights for scholars and retail marketers.