IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v82y2025ics0969698924003588.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Customer adoption of robot: Synergizing customer acceptance of robot-assisted retail technologies

Author

Listed:
  • Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa
  • Faisal Ali Khan, Syed Md
  • Ali M Khalufi, Nasser
  • Abdullah, Riyaz Sheikh

Abstract

Recent years have seen increased interest in applying robots to the retail sector. The present research aims to learn the criteria that make people more or less likely to use retail services assisted by robots. The study builds on the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) as an information system theory and presents a research model that considers how people perceive robots in their decisions. The model also investigates the impact of customers' social and cultural norms (SCN) and level of education towards customer adoption of robots (CAR). A survey from Saudi Arabian customers was used to compile the data. The PLS-SEM approach was applied in assessing customer acceptance of Robot-assisted retail technologies model and research proposed constructs. All indicators significantly impacted customer adoption, with perceived usefulness (PU) mediating between the two. Furthermore, education and SCN moderate the relationship between customer attitudes toward robots (ATR) and CAR. Retailers and governments can learn much from the study's findings about what motivates customers to use store robots. The findings strictly contribute to extending the current literature on merging TAM and consumer acceptance theories, practices, practitioners, and business decision-makers. In addition, to enhance the useful insights of synergizing customer acceptance of Robot-assisted retail technologies; we added theoretical, managerial, and social implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa & Faisal Ali Khan, Syed Md & Ali M Khalufi, Nasser & Abdullah, Riyaz Sheikh, 2025. "Customer adoption of robot: Synergizing customer acceptance of robot-assisted retail technologies," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s0969698924003588
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104062
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698924003588
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104062?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Markus Blut & Cheng Wang, 2020. "Technology readiness: a meta-analysis of conceptualizations of the construct and its impact on technology usage," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 649-669, July.
    2. Mohammed T. Nuseir & Muhammad Farhan Basheer & Ahmad Aljumah, 2020. "Antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions in smart city of Neom Saudi Arabia: Does the entrepreneurial education on artificial intelligence matter?," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 1825041-182, January.
    3. Lorente-Martínez, Javier & Navío-Marco, Julio & Rodrigo-Moya, Beatriz, 2020. "Analysis of the adoption of customer facing InStore technologies in retail SMEs," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    4. Yao, Qi & Hu, Chao & Zhou, Wenkai, 2024. "The impact of customer privacy concerns on service robot adoption intentions: A credence/experience service typology perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    5. Song, Christina Soyoung & Kim, Youn-Kyung, 2022. "The role of the human-robot interaction in consumers’ acceptance of humanoid retail service robots," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 489-503.
    6. Lee, Sang-Gun & Trimi, Silvana & Kim, Changsoo, 2013. "The impact of cultural differences on technology adoption," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 20-29.
    7. Fred D. Davis & Richard P. Bagozzi & Paul R. Warshaw, 1989. "User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(8), pages 982-1003, August.
    8. Liao, Jiancai & Huang, Jingya, 2024. "Think like a robot: How interactions with humanoid service robots affect consumers’ decision strategies," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Naser Hossein Motlagh & Mahsa Mohammadrezaei & Julian Hunt & Behnam Zakeri, 2020. "Internet of Things (IoT) and the Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-27, January.
    10. Arikan, Esra & Altinigne, Nesenur & Kuzgun, Ebru & Okan, Mehmet, 2023. "May robots be held responsible for service failure and recovery? The role of robot service provider agents’ human-likeness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    11. Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene & Şemsettin Çiğdem & Bülent Yıldız & Sigitas Davidavicius, 2021. "The Effect of Perceptions on Service Robot Usage Intention: A Survey Study in the Service Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Seyitoğlu, Faruk & Ivanov, Stanislav & Atsız, Ozan & Çifçi, İbrahim, 2021. "Robots as restaurant employees - A double-barrelled detective story," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    13. Mehmood, Khalid & Kautish, Pradeep & Shah, Tejas R., 2024. "Embracing digital companions: Unveiling customer engagement with anthropomorphic AI service robots in cross-cultural context," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    14. Bernd Schmitt, 2020. "Speciesism: an obstacle to AI and robot adoption," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 3-6, March.
    15. Huang, Yingying & Gursoy, Dogan, 2024. "How does AI technology integration affect employees’ proactive service behaviors? A transactional theory of stress perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Sarstedt, Marko & Ringle, Christian M. & Smith, Donna & Reams, Russell & Hair, Joseph F., 2014. "Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): A useful tool for family business researchers," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 105-115.
    17. Shumookh Abdul Aziz Al-Ghamdi & Nada Saleh Badawi, 2019. "Do corporate social responsibility activities enhance customer satisfaction and customer loyalty? Evidence from the Saudi banking sector," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1662932-166, January.
    18. Hengle Qin & Jun Xiao & Dongdong Ge & Linwei Xin & Jianjun Gao & Simai He & Haodong Hu & John Gunnar Carlsson, 2022. "JD.com: Operations Research Algorithms Drive Intelligent Warehouse Robots to Work," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 52(1), pages 42-55, January.
    19. Merdin-Uygur, Ezgi & Ozturkcan, Selcen, 2023. "Consumers and service robots: Power relationships amid COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    20. Hai Ho Nguyen & Bang Nguyen-Viet & Yen Thi Hoang Nguyen & Tin Hoang Le, 2022. "Understanding online purchase intention: the mediating role of attitude towards advertising," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 2095950-209, December.
    21. Wang, Yawei & Kang, Qi & Zhou, Shoujiang & Dong, Yuanyuan & Liu, Junqi, 2022. "The impact of service robots in retail: Exploring the effect of novelty priming on consumer behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    22. Sarstedt, Marko & Hair, Joseph F. & Ringle, Christian M. & Thiele, Kai O. & Gudergan, Siegfried P., 2016. "Estimation issues with PLS and CBSEM: Where the bias lies!," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 3998-4010.
    23. de Kervenoael, Ronan & Schwob, Alexandre & Hasan, Rajibul & Psylla, Evangelia, 2024. "SIoT robots and consumer experiences in retail: Unpacking repeat purchase intention drivers leveraging computers are social actors (CASA) paradigm," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    24. Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa & Ali Khan, Syed Md Faisal, 2024. "Consumer readiness for green consumption: The role of green awareness as a moderator of the relationship between green attitudes and purchase intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    25. Subero-Navarro, à urea & Pelegrín-Borondo, Jorge & Reinares-Lara, Eva & Olarte-Pascual, Cristina, 2022. "Proposal for modeling social robot acceptance by retail customers: CAN model + technophobia," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    26. Song, Christina Soyoung & Kim, Youn-Kyung, 2021. "Predictors of consumers’ willingness to share personal information with fashion sales robots," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    27. Kyung Hwa Seo & Jee Hye Lee, 2021. "The Emergence of Service Robots at Restaurants: Integrating Trust, Perceived Risk, and Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, April.
    28. Robert V. Kozinets, 2008. "Technology/Ideology: How Ideological Fields Influence Consumers' Technology Narratives," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(6), pages 865-881, October.
    29. Park, Junsung & Yoo, Joon Woo & Cho, Youngju & Park, Heejun, 2023. "Examining the impact of service robot communication styles on customer intimacy following service failure," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    30. Zheng, Chundong & Zhang, Lan & Bian, Xuemei, 2024. "A showdown in the kitchen: Exploring consumers’ preferences for robot-made versus human-made foods at different stages of dietary restraint," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    31. Rosenbaum, Mark S. & Cheng, Mingming & Wong, Ipkin Anthony, 2016. "Retail knockoffs: Consumer acceptance and rejection of inauthentic retailers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 2448-2455.
    32. Yan Shi & Abu Bakkar Siddik & Mohammad Masukujjaman & Guangwen Zheng & Muhammad Hamayun & Abdullah Mohammed Ibrahim, 2022. "The Antecedents of Willingness to Adopt and Pay for the IoT in the Agricultural Industry: An Application of the UTAUT 2 Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-23, May.
    33. Don E. Schultz & Martin Block, 2017. "Consumer research, retailers and robots," International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(2), pages 172-184.
    34. Leung, Chi Hong & Yan Chan, Winslet Ting, 2020. "Retail chatbots: The challenges and opportunities of conversational commerce," Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, Henry Stewart Publications, vol. 8(1), pages 68-84, June.
    35. Shmueli, Galit & Ray, Soumya & Velasquez Estrada, Juan Manuel & Chatla, Suneel Babu, 2016. "The elephant in the room: Predictive performance of PLS models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4552-4564.
    36. Viswanath Venkatesh & Fred D. Davis, 2000. "A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(2), pages 186-204, February.
    37. Grewal, Dhruv & Kroschke, Mirja & Mende, Martin & Roggeveen, Anne L. & Scott, Maura L., 2020. "Frontline Cyborgs at Your Service: How Human Enhancement Technologies Affect Customer Experiences in Retail, Sales, and Service Settings," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 9-25.
    38. Jian Mou & Dong-Hee Shin & Jason Cohen, 2017. "Understanding trust and perceived usefulness in the consumer acceptance of an e-service: a longitudinal investigation," Behaviour and Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 125-139, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Khalilur Rahman & Noor Azizi Ismail & Md Arafat Hossain & Mohammad Shahadat Hossen, 2025. "Students' mindset to adopt AI chatbots for effectiveness of online learning in higher education," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gao, Yajie & Chang, Yaping & Yang, Tangwutu & Yu, Zhihao, 2025. "Consumer acceptance of social robots in domestic settings: A human-robot interaction perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Vinoi, Nivin & Shankar, Amit & Agarwal, Reeti & Alghafes, Rsha, 2025. "Revolutionizing retail: The transformative power of service robots on shopping dynamics," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Mehmood, Khalid & Kautish, Pradeep & Shah, Tejas R., 2024. "Embracing digital companions: Unveiling customer engagement with anthropomorphic AI service robots in cross-cultural context," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Xu, Shibo & Zhang, Xiaoxue & Kim, Rohan & Su, Miao, 2024. "Anthropomorphic last-mile robots and consumer intention: An empirical test under a theoretical framework," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. de Kervenoael, Ronan & Schwob, Alexandre & Hasan, Rajibul & Psylla, Evangelia, 2024. "SIoT robots and consumer experiences in retail: Unpacking repeat purchase intention drivers leveraging computers are social actors (CASA) paradigm," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Subero-Navarro, à urea & Pelegrín-Borondo, Jorge & Reinares-Lara, Eva & Olarte-Pascual, Cristina, 2022. "Proposal for modeling social robot acceptance by retail customers: CAN model + technophobia," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Pedro Palos-Sanchez & Jose Ramon Saura & Raquel Ayestaran, 2021. "An Exploratory Approach to the Adoption Process of Bitcoin by Business Executives," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-23, February.
    8. Cristopher Siegfried Kopplin, 2021. "Two heads are better than one: matchmaking tools in coworking spaces," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1045-1069, May.
    9. Cliff R. Kikawa & Charity Kiconco & Moses Agaba & Dimas Ntirampeba & Amos Ssematimba & Billy M. Kalema, 2022. "Social Media Marketing for Small and Medium Enterprise Performance in Uganda: A Structural Equation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.
    10. Cabrera-Sánchez, Juan-Pedro & Villarejo-Ramos, à ngel F., 2020. "Acceptance and use of big data techniques in services companies," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    11. Alfiero, Simona & Battisti, Enrico & Ηadjielias, Elias, 2022. "Black box technology, usage-based insurance, and prediction of purchase behavior: Evidence from the auto insurance sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    12. Faqih, Khaled M.S., 2016. "An empirical analysis of factors predicting the behavioral intention to adopt Internet shopping technology among non-shoppers in a developing country context: Does gender matter?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 140-164.
    13. Yiming Shao & Zhugen Wang & Zhiwei Zhou & Haojing Chen & Yuanlong Cui & Zhenghuan Zhou, 2022. "Determinants Affecting Public Intention to Use Micro-Vertical Farming: A Survey Investigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-26, July.
    14. Gupta, Somya & Hassen, Majdi & Pandey, Dharen Kumar & Sahu, Ganesh P., 2024. "Cognitive, affective, and normative factors affecting digital insurance adoption among persons with disabilities: A two-stage SEM-ANN analysis," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    15. Christian Nitzl & Wynne W. Chin, 2017. "The case of partial least squares (PLS) path modeling in managerial accounting research," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 137-156, May.
    16. Yadgar Taha M. Hamakhan, 2020. "The effect of individual factors on user behaviour and the moderating role of trust: an empirical investigation of consumers’ acceptance of electronic banking in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 1-29, December.
    17. Simarpreet Kaur & Sangeeta Arora, 2023. "Understanding customers’ usage behavior towards online banking services: an integrated risk–benefit framework," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(1), pages 74-98, March.
    18. El Barachi, May & Salim, Taghreed Abu & Nyadzayo, Munyaradzi W. & Mathew, Sujith & Badewi, Amgad & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2022. "The relationship between citizen readiness and the intention to continuously use smart city services: Mediating effects of satisfaction and discomfort," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    19. Basco, Rodrigo & Hair, Joseph F. & Ringle, Christian M. & Sarstedt, Marko, 2022. "Advancing family business research through modeling nonlinear relationships: Comparing PLS-SEM and multiple regression," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    20. Mauricio S. Featherman & Nick Hajli, 2016. "Self-Service Technologies and e-Services Risks in Social Commerce Era," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 251-269, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s0969698924003588. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.