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The role of the chatbot on customer purchase intention: towards digital relational sales

Author

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  • Letizia Lo Presti

    (University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza)

  • Giulio Maggiore

    (University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza)

  • Vittoria Marino

    (University of Sannio)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which conversation with a chatbot on an official website can change the value perception of products and influence the customer purchase intention. The study also investigates the role of chatbots on brand familiarity and the influence of previous experience of interaction with chatbots on customer buying intention. Two laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of chatbot use on customer purchase intention. Chatbots on websites shift the value perception of hedonic and utilitarian goods towards respectively utilitarian and hedonic values. Chatbots contribute to the brand awareness reducing the effect of familiarity on the customer purchase intention. Retailers should include effective chatbots while operating and designing shopping websites to stimulate the shopping intention of consumers. Companies should design and carefully manage chatbots by monitoring user involvement and quality of customer experience in order to feed a calibrated continuous improvement process on company objectives. The paper represents a first step approach in addressing e-service agents toward the online customer shopping experience. Digital assistants may change the online shopping context increasing the hedonic value experience but at the same time reducing the time for decision making by reinforcing the utilitarian value perception of the utilitarian and hedonic products.

Suggested Citation

  • Letizia Lo Presti & Giulio Maggiore & Vittoria Marino, 2021. "The role of the chatbot on customer purchase intention: towards digital relational sales," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 165-188, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijmark:v:2021:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s43039-021-00029-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s43039-021-00029-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Francesca Serravalle & Milena Viassone & Giacomo Chiappa, 2022. "Sensory disclosure in an augmented environment: memory of touch and willingness to buy," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2022(4), pages 401-417, December.
    2. Zogaj, Adnan & Mähner, Philipp M. & Yang, Linyu & Tscheulin, Dieter K., 2023. "It’s a Match! The effects of chatbot anthropomorphization and chatbot gender on consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PA).

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