IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v84y2025ics096969892500013x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From familiarity to acceptance: The impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on consumer adoption of retail chatbots

Author

Listed:
  • Arce-Urriza, Marta
  • Chocarro, Raquel
  • Cortiñas, Mónica
  • Marcos-Matás, Gustavo

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) on consumer adoption of retail chatbots, focusing on how GenAI impacts key adoption determinants, the role of familiarity and assessing its effects across different stages of the customer journey. We conducted two waves of surveys, one pre- and one post-GenAI integration, to compare consumer perceptions across three customer service tasks. Using the Service Robot Acceptance Model (SRAM) as a framework, we found that GenAI enhances consumer perceptions of chatbot usefulness, human-likeness, and familiarity, thereby increasing adoption intentions. However, trust remains largely unchanged, and privacy concerns have risen post-GenAI. Additionally, the relationships remain stable across customer journey stages, with familiarity playing a key role. Our findings extend SRAM to the retail context with GenAI, offering new insights into the temporal stability of chatbot adoption factors. It underscores familiarity's dual role (direct and indirect) in fostering adoption, while highlighting that GenAI impacts specific aspects of consumer interaction. These findings provide insights for retailers to leverage GenAI-powered chatbots to enhance customer engagement and satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Arce-Urriza, Marta & Chocarro, Raquel & Cortiñas, Mónica & Marcos-Matás, Gustavo, 2025. "From familiarity to acceptance: The impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on consumer adoption of retail chatbots," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:84:y:2025:i:c:s096969892500013x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104234
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096969892500013X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104234?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kasilingam, Dharun Lingam, 2020. "Understanding the attitude and intention to use smartphone chatbots for shopping," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    2. Przegalinska, Aleksandra & Ciechanowski, Leon & Stroz, Anna & Gloor, Peter & Mazurek, Grzegorz, 2019. "In bot we trust: A new methodology of chatbot performance measures," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 785-797.
    3. Bin Li & Yanhong Chen & Luning Liu & Bowen Zheng, 2023. "Users’ intention to adopt artificial intelligence-based chatbot: a meta-analysis," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(15-16), pages 1117-1139, December.
    4. Seo Young Kim & Bernd H. Schmitt & Nadia M. Thalmann, 2019. "Eliza in the uncanny valley: anthropomorphizing consumer robots increases their perceived warmth but decreases liking," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 1-12, March.
    5. Rese, Alexandra & Ganster, Lena & Baier, Daniel, 2020. "Chatbots in retailers’ customer communication: How to measure their acceptance?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    6. Shahzad, Muhammad Farrukh & Xu, Shuo & An, Xin & Javed, Iqra, 2024. "Assessing the impact of AI-chatbot service quality on user e-brand loyalty through chatbot user trust, experience and electronic word of mouth," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Chin-Lung Hsu & Judy Chuan-Chuan Lin, 2020. "Understanding continuance intention to use online to offline (O2O) apps," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(4), pages 883-897, December.
    8. Daniel Belanche & Russell W. Belk & Luis V. Casaló & Carlos Flavián, 2024. "The dark side of artificial intelligence in services," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3-4), pages 149-172, March.
    9. Fernandes, Teresa & Oliveira, Elisabete, 2021. "Understanding consumers’ acceptance of automated technologies in service encounters: Drivers of digital voice assistants adoption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 180-191.
    10. Roy, Sanjit Kumar & Shekhar, Vaibhav & Lassar, Walfried M. & Chen, Tom, 2018. "Customer engagement behaviors: The role of service convenience, fairness and quality," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 293-304.
    11. Pei-Fang Hsu & Tuan (Kellan) Nguyen & Chen-Ya Wang & Pei-Ju Huang, 2023. "Chatbot commerce—How contextual factors affect Chatbot effectiveness," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, December.
    12. 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).
    13. Chung, Minjee & Ko, Eunju & Joung, Heerim & Kim, Sang Jin, 2020. "Chatbot e-service and customer satisfaction regarding luxury brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 587-595.
    14. Hasan, Rajibul & Shams, Riad & Rahman, Mizan, 2021. "Consumer trust and perceived risk for voice-controlled artificial intelligence: The case of Siri," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 591-597.
    15. Pathak, Kanishka & Prakash, Gyan & Samadhiya, Ashutosh & Kumar, Anil & Luthra, Sunil, 2025. "Impact of Gen-AI chatbots on consumer services experiences and behaviors: Focusing on the sensation of awe and usage intentions through a cybernetic lens," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    16. Sheehan, Ben & Jin, Hyun Seung & Gottlieb, Udo, 2020. "Customer service chatbots: Anthropomorphism and adoption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 14-24.
    17. Prentice, Catherine & Han, Xiao Yun & Hua, Lian-Lian & Hu, Lin, 2019. "The influence of identity-driven customer engagement on purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 339-347.
    18. Flavián, Carlos & Belk, Russell W. & Belanche, Daniel & Casaló, Luis V., 2024. "Automated social presence in AI: Avoiding consumer psychological tensions to improve service value," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    19. 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.
    20. Aiello, Gaetano & Donvito, Raffaele & Acuti, Diletta & Grazzini, Laura & Mazzoli, Valentina & Vannucci, Virginia & Viglia, Giampaolo, 2020. "Customers’ Willingness to Disclose Personal Information throughout the Customer Purchase Journey in Retailing: The Role of Perceived Warmth," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 490-506.
    21. Chong, Terrence & Yu, Ting & Keeling, Debbie Isobel & de Ruyter, Ko, 2021. "AI-chatbots on the services frontline addressing the challenges and opportunities of agency," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    22. Keaveney, Susan M. & Huber, Frank & Herrmann, Andreas, 2007. "A model of buyer regret: Selected prepurchase and postpurchase antecedents with consequences for the brand and the channel," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(12), pages 1207-1215, December.
    23. 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).
    24. Heetae Yang & Hwansoo Lee, 2019. "Understanding user behavior of virtual personal assistant devices," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 65-87, March.
    25. Palan, Stefan & Schitter, Christian, 2018. "Prolific.ac—A subject pool for online experiments," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 22-27.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Habib, Muhammad Danish & Attri, Rekha & Salam, Mohammad Asif & Yaqub, Muhammad Zafar, 2025. "Retail consumers' conundrum: An in-depth qualitative study navigating the motivations and aversion of chatbots," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Mariani, Marcello M. & Hashemi, Novin & Wirtz, Jochen, 2023. "Artificial intelligence empowered conversational agents: A systematic literature review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Huang, Yu-Shan (Sandy) & Dootson, Paula, 2022. "Chatbots and service failure: When does it lead to customer aggression," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Jan, Ihsan Ullah & Ji, Seonggoo & Kim, Changju, 2023. "What (de) motivates customers to use AI-powered conversational agents for shopping? The extended behavioral reasoning perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Massilva Dekkal & Manon Arcand & Sandrine Prom Tep & Lova Rajaobelina & Line Ricard, 2024. "Factors affecting user trust and intention in adopting chatbots: the moderating role of technology anxiety in insurtech," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(3), pages 699-728, September.
    6. Mark Anthony Camilleri & Ciro Troise, 2023. "Live support by chatbots with artificial intelligence: A future research agenda," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 17(1), pages 61-80, March.
    7. Baabdullah, Abdullah M. & Alalwan, Ali Abdallah & Algharabat, Raed S. & Metri, Bhimaraya & Rana, Nripendra P., 2022. "Virtual agents and flow experience: An empirical examination of AI-powered chatbots," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    8. Tao Zhang & Chao Feng & Hui Chen & Junjie Xian, 2022. "Calming the customers by AI: Investigating the role of chatbot acting-cute strategies in soothing negative customer emotions," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 2277-2292, December.
    9. Kamoonpuri, Sana Zehra & Sengar, Anita, 2023. "Hi, May AI help you? An analysis of the barriers impeding the implementation and use of artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistants in retail," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Chattaraman, Veena & Kwon, Wi-Suk & Ross, Kassandra & Sung, Jihyun & Alikhademi, Kiana & Richardson, Brianna & Gilbert, Juan E., 2024. "‘Smart’ Choice? Evaluating AI-Based mobile decision bots for in-store decision-making," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    11. Luis Matosas-López, 2025. "The influence of brand credibility and brand loyalty on customer satisfaction and continued use intention in new voice assistance services based on AI," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 180-201, March.
    12. Tran, Anh D. & Pallant, Jason I. & Johnson, Lester W., 2021. "Exploring the impact of chatbots on consumer sentiment and expectations in retail," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    13. Le, Hoang Tran Phuoc Mai & Park, Jungkun & Lee, Sangwoo, 2023. "Emotion and trust in virtual service assistant design for effective service recovery," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Kautish, Pradeep & Purohit, Sonal & Filieri, Raffaele & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2023. "Examining the role of consumer motivations to use voice assistants for fashion shopping: The mediating role of awe experience and eWOM," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    15. Li, Meichan & Wang, Rui, 2023. "Chatbots in e-commerce: The effect of chatbot language style on customers’ continuance usage intention and attitude toward brand," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Rajat Kumar Behera & Pradip Kumar Bala & Arghya Ray, 2024. "Cognitive Chatbot for Personalised Contextual Customer Service: Behind the Scene and beyond the Hype," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 899-919, June.
    17. Murtaza, Zara & Sharma, Isha & Carbonell, Pilar, 2024. "Examining chatbot usage intention in a service encounter: Role of task complexity, communication style, and brand personality," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    18. Nitin Upadhyay & Aakash Kamble, 2024. "Why can’t we help but love mobile banking chatbots? Perspective of stimulus-organism-response," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(3), pages 855-872, September.
    19. Song, Mengmeng & Xing, Xinyu & Duan, Yucong & Cohen, Jason & Mou, Jian, 2022. "Will artificial intelligence replace human customer service? The impact of communication quality and privacy risks on adoption intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    20. Liu, Wenlong & Jiang, Min & Li, Wangjie & Mou, Jian, 2024. "How does the anthropomorphism of AI chatbots facilitate users' reuse intention in online health consultation services? The moderating role of disease severity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:84:y:2025:i:c:s096969892500013x. 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.