This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Retailers have every reason to be interested in AI. A shopping assistant that answers questions at any hour, compares products instantly and offers personalized recommendations sounds like a win for customers and businesses alike.
But the technology can be impressive while the experience is disappointing. Consider a customer who asks an AI assistant whether a laptop is suitable for college. The tool responds confidently and immediately, but overlooks a crucial software requirement.
Or a supermarket assistant proposes substitutions that ignore a dietary preference. These are hypothetical examples, but they illustrate how an AI interaction can appear efficient while failing to meet the customer's actual needs. In Australia, Bunnings' Buddy and Woolworths' Olive show how conversational shopping is entering mainstream retail.
Amazon's Alexa for Shopping, introduced in beta to selected Australian customers, can help users research products and compare options. Walmart's Sparky offers similar assistance in the United States. These are examples of what retailers say their systems are designed to do, not proof that every shopper has a good experience.
The stakes are higher as AI shifts from answering questions to taking action. A mistaken recommendation is inconvenient; a mistaken purchase or an unwanted disclosure of personal information could be more serious. That gap between technological capability and customer confidence motivated our research, published in the Journal of Retailing.
Across eight studies, we developed and tested a new way of assessing how customers accept AI-enabled retail services. We found that acceptance has eight distinct dimensions: personalization, accuracy, safety, speed, convenience, humanization, friendliness and emotionality. In everyday terms, customers care whether AI provides a useful, reliable and manageable experience, and whether the interaction feels appropriate rather than awkward or impersonal.
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