The Effect of Variety in Past Consumption on Openness to Personalized Recommendation Services

Artificial intelligence (AI) driven personalized recommendation services automate search, creation of a consideration set, and choice for consumers by suggesting products that should match their tastes. Which consumers are most open to trying these services? This article finds that consumers with higher variety in their past consumption are more willing to try personalized recommendation services. These consumers perceive greater abundance in options they can consume in the future, which encourages them to use services that help narrow choices. The effect is replicated in various product categories such as food, fashion, and music. We clarify that the effect is driven by the desire for optimal decisions by identifying decision difficulty as a moderator. For consumers who perceive it inherently difficult to decide what to consume and thus desire to narrow their options, the effect of past variety diminishes; these consumers are generally open to trying personalized recommendation services.