Consumer Perceptions of Autonomous Shopping Systems

Groundbreaking advances in artificial intelligence will permit tomorrow’s retailers to incorporate autonomous systems, able to initiate their own behavior and to make decisions autonomously on behalf of consumers. Drawing on research into consumer behavior, information systems, and innovation management, the authors argue that autonomous shopping systems (ASS) challenge well-established human-machine interactions due to the delegation of decisions to technology. A scenario-inspired qualitative study explores consumers’ perceptions of an ASS that autonomously manages the food shopping and preparation process for the consumer. The findings demonstrate that delegating decisions to ASS prompts trade-offs between functional consumption motives (e.g., convenience and time efficiency) and psychological consumption motives, such as personal control, social connectedness, experiential rewards, and individuality. The authors argue that these trade-offs depend on the prevailing consumption motive (functional vs. psychological) and the need for assistance (low vs. high), which in turn determines whether the technology is perceived as enabler, disabler, ideative facilitator, or practical supporter. This study contributes to prior research that cautioned against how technologies fail to accommodate core psychological needs in consumption by discussing under which circumstances consumers perceive ASS as enabling versus disabling. The present work concludes by suggesting practical implications for the retail industry.