IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v74y2023ics0969698923001790.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The influence of anthropomorphic appearance of artificial intelligence products on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different product types

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Yaqiong
  • Wang, Shifu

Abstract

While artificial intelligence products are widely used in the market, their anthropomorphic appearance design is becoming a frontier issue in product strategy and consumer behavior research. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of anthropomorphic appearance on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different AI product types. It was conducted in China, a new but rapidly-growing country in the field of Internet, AI technology and AI product consumption. This study conducted four situational experiments with a 2 (anthropomorphic design: anthropomorphic vs. non-anthropomorphic) × 2 (product type: hedonic vs. utilitarian) between subjects’ experimental design. Data was collected from 1172 Chinese “Digital Natives†by using a structured questionnaire. The findings revealed that for hedonic AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived entertainment, and intelligence level significantly moderates the mediating effect of perceived entertainment; while for practical AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived usefulness, and intelligence level does not significantly moderate the mediating effect of perceived usefulness. There is no significant moderating effect of intelligence level on perceived usefulness. The study contributes to development and validation of a more comprehensive understanding and theoretical foundation of anthropomorphism, and furthermore explores the impact of anthropomorphic appearance on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different AI product types. This study also provides insights for companies to apply anthropomorphic strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yaqiong & Wang, Shifu, 2023. "The influence of anthropomorphic appearance of artificial intelligence products on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different product types," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0969698923001790
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103432
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698923001790
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103432?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. Chu, Kyounghee & Lee, Do-Hee & Kim, Ji Yoon, 2019. "The effect of verbal brand personification on consumer evaluation in advertising: Internal and external personification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 472-480.
    2. Anshu, Kumari & Gaur, Loveleen & Singh, Gurmeet, 2022. "Impact of customer experience on attitude and repurchase intention in online grocery retailing: A moderation mechanism of value Co-creation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Chiara Longoni & Andrea Bonezzi & Carey K Morewedge, 2019. "Resistance to Medical Artificial Intelligence," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(4), pages 629-650.
    4. Sara Kim & Ann L. McGill, 2011. "Gaming with Mr. Slot or Gaming the Slot Machine? Power, Anthropomorphism, and Risk Perception," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(1), pages 94-107.
    5. Liu, Fu & Wei, Haiying & Zhu, Zhenzhong & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2022. "Warmth or competence: Brand anthropomorphism, social exclusion, and advertisement effectiveness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    6. Ling, Hsiao-Chi & Chen, Hong-Ren & Ho, Kevin K.W. & Hsiao, Kuo-Lun, 2021. "Exploring the factors affecting customers’ intention to purchase a smart speaker," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    7. Vlačić, Božidar & Corbo, Leonardo & Costa e Silva, Susana & Dabić, Marina, 2021. "The evolving role of artificial intelligence in marketing: A review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 187-203.
    8. Chen, Tong & Razzaq, Amar & Qing, Ping & Cao, Binbin, 2021. "Do you bear to reject them? The effect of anthropomorphism on empathy and consumer preference for unattractive produce," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. 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.
    10. Jacobson, Jenna & Gruzd, Anatoliy & Hernández-García, à ngel, 2020. "Social media marketing: Who is watching the watchers?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    11. McLean, Graeme & Osei-Frimpong, Kofi & Barhorst, Jennifer, 2021. "Alexa, do voice assistants influence consumer brand engagement? – Examining the role of AI powered voice assistants in influencing consumer brand engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 312-328.
    12. Qing, Tang & Haiying, Du, 2021. "How to achieve consumer continuance intention toward branded apps—from the consumer–brand engagement perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    13. Pillai, Rajasshrie & Sivathanu, Brijesh & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2020. "Shopping intention at AI-powered automated retail stores (AIPARS)," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    14. Markus Blut & Cheng Wang & Nancy V. Wünderlich & Christian Brock, 2021. "Understanding anthropomorphism in service provision: a meta-analysis of physical robots, chatbots, and other AI," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 632-658, July.
    15. van Esch, Patrick & Arli, Denni & Gheshlaghi, Mahnaz Haji & Andonopoulos, Vicki & von der Heidt, Tania & Northey, Gavin, 2019. "Anthropomorphism and augmented reality in the retail environment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 35-42.
    16. Simona Botti & Ann L. McGill, 2011. "The Locus of Choice: Personal Causality and Satisfaction with Hedonic and Utilitarian Decisions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(6), pages 1065-1078.
    17. Xing, Fei & Peng, Guochao & Zhang, Bingqian & Li, Shuyang & Liang, Xinting, 2021. "Socio-technical barriers affecting large-scale deployment of AI-enabled wearable medical devices among the ageing population in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    18. Du, Shuili & Xie, Chunyan, 2021. "Paradoxes of artificial intelligence in consumer markets: Ethical challenges and opportunities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 961-974.
    19. 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.
    20. Ezhil Kumar, Madhumitha & Sharma, Dheeraj P. & Tapar, Archit V., 2021. "Out-of-stock justifications and consumers’ behavioral outcomes– exploring the role of product type and sales level information in out-of-stock situations," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    21. Fan, Xiaojun & Chai, Zeli & Deng, Nianqi & Dong, Xuebing, 2020. "Adoption of augmented reality in online retailing and consumers’ product attitude: A cognitive perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    22. Alzayat, Ayman & Lee, Seung Hwan (Mark), 2021. "Virtual products as an extension of my body: Exploring hedonic and utilitarian shopping value in a virtual reality retail environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 348-363.
    23. Xueming Luo & Siliang Tong & Zheng Fang & Zhe Qu, 2019. "Frontiers: Machines vs. Humans: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Disclosure on Customer Purchases," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(6), pages 937-947, November.
    24. Sara Kim & Rocky Peng Chen & Ke Zhang, 2016. "Anthropomorphized Helpers Undermine Autonomy and Enjoyment in Computer Games," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 43(2), pages 282-302.
    25. Uzir, Md. Uzir Hossain & Al Halbusi, Hussam & Thurasamy, Ramayah & Thiam Hock, Rodney Lim & Aljaberi, Musheer A. & Hasan, Najmul & Hamid, Mahmud, 2021. "The effects of service quality, perceived value and trust in home delivery service personnel on customer satisfaction: Evidence from a developing country," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    26. Thomas Davenport & Abhijit Guha & Dhruv Grewal & Timna Bressgott, 2020. "How artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 24-42, January.
    27. Perry, Anna, 2016. "Consumers' acceptance of smart virtual closets," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 171-177.
    28. Chuah, Stephanie Hui-Wen & Yu, Joanne, 2021. "The future of service: The power of emotion in human-robot interaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    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. Markovitch, Dmitri G. & Stough, Rusty A. & Huang, Dongling, 2024. "Consumer reactions to chatbot versus human service: An investigation in the role of outcome valence and perceived empathy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Chakraborty, Debarun & Polisetty, Aruna & Rana, Nripendra P., 2024. "Consumers' continuance intention towards metaverse-based virtual stores: A multi-study perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    3. Zhou, Shuai & Yi, Ni & Rasiah, Rajah & Zhao, Haipeng & Mo, Zile, 2024. "An empirical study on the dark side of service employees’ AI awareness: Behavioral responses, emotional mechanisms, and mitigating factors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Wang, Zhihao & Li, Wei & Wang, Mengxin, 2024. "Exploring the social diffusion effects of green consumption: Evidence from green innovative products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Wang, Siqi & Lim, Xin-Jean & Luo, Xi & Cheah, Jun-Hwa, 2024. "To hesitate or not to hesitate: Can popularity cues minimize the hesitation to checkout in e-commerce?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Muhammad Waqas Farooq & Dr. Khawaja Hisham Ul Hassan & Faiza Nawaz, 2024. "Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches: The Impact of AI Design on Consumer Perception and Buying Behavior in the FMCG Sector," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 13(2), pages 775-786.
    7. Qin, Huanyu & Xie, Zhipeng & Ding, Chen & Wang, Jingyuan & Xu, Yi, 2024. "Healing or hesitation? The impact of anthropomorphism on consumers' repair intentions for products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Sakinah Shukri & Norhidayah Binti Azman & Dekeng Setyo Budiarto & Sabri Sudin & Aidrina Sofiadin, 2023. "Factor Influencing Consumers Preference in Klang Valley Market: A Study of Natural Personal Care Products," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 15(4), pages 536-545.

    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. Mari, Alex & Mandelli, Andreina & Algesheimer, René, 2024. "Empathic voice assistants: Enhancing consumer responses in voice commerce," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Alabed, Amani & Javornik, Ana & Gregory-Smith, Diana, 2022. "AI anthropomorphism and its effect on users' self-congruence and self–AI integration: A theoretical framework and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    3. Li, Xueni (Shirley) & Kim, Sara & Chan, Kimmy Wa & McGill, Ann L., 2023. "Detrimental effects of anthropomorphism on the perceived physical safety of artificial agents in dangerous situations," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 841-864.
    4. Xie, Yuguang & Liang, Changyong & Zhou, Peiyu & Jiang, Li, 2024. "Exploring the influence mechanism of chatbot-expressed humor on service satisfaction in online customer service," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Hermann, Erik & Puntoni, Stefano, 2024. "Artificial intelligence and consumer behavior: From predictive to generative AI," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. Erik Hermann, 2022. "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Marketing for Social Good—An Ethical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 43-61, August.
    7. Leah Warfield Smith & Randall Lee Rose & Alex R. Zablah & Heath McCullough & Mohammad “Mike” Saljoughian, 2023. "Examining post-purchase consumer responses to product automation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 530-550, May.
    8. Jana Holthöwer & Jenny Doorn, 2023. "Robots do not judge: service robots can alleviate embarrassment in service encounters," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 767-784, July.
    9. 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).
    10. Peng, Leiqing & Luo, Mengting & Guo, Yulang, 2023. "Deposit AI as the “invisible hand†to make the resale easier: A moderated mediation model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Yang, Yikai & Zheng, Jiehui & Yu, Yining & Qiu, Yiling & Wang, Lei, 2024. "The role of recommendation sources and attribute framing in online product recommendations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    12. Chenyu Gu & Yu Zhang & Linhao Zeng, 2024. "Exploring the mechanism of sustained consumer trust in AI chatbots after service failures: a perspective based on attribution and CASA theories," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    13. Hai Lan & Xiaofei Tang & Yong Ye & Huiqin Zhang, 2024. "Abstract or concrete? The effects of language style and service context on continuous usage intention for AI voice assistants," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    14. Abhijit Guha & Timna Bressgott & Dhruv Grewal & Dominik Mahr & Martin Wetzels & Elisa Schweiger, 2023. "How artificiality and intelligence affect voice assistant evaluations," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 843-866, July.
    15. Erik Hermann & Gizem Yalcin Williams & Stefano Puntoni, 2024. "Deploying artificial intelligence in services to AID vulnerable consumers," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 1431-1451, October.
    16. Zhou, Cheng & Chang, Qian, 2024. "Informational or emotional? Exploring the relative effects of chatbots’ self-recovery strategies on consumer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    17. Schillaci, Carmela Elita & de Cosmo, Lucrezia Maria & Piper, Luigi & Nicotra, Melita & Guido, Gianluigi, 2024. "Anthropomorphic chatbots' for future healthcare services: Effects of personality, gender, and roles on source credibility, user satisfaction, and intention to use," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    18. Lexie Lan Huang & Rocky Peng Chen & Kimmy Wa Chan, 2024. "Pairing up with anthropomorphized artificial agents: Leveraging employee creativity in service encounters," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 955-975, July.
    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. Yuanyuan Zhou & Zhuoying Fei & Yuanqiong He & Zhilin Yang, 2022. "How Human–Chatbot Interaction Impairs Charitable Giving: The Role of Moral Judgment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 849-865, July.

    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:74:y:2023:i:c:s0969698923001790. 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.