Title: Starting a relationship with AI! Exploring consumer's attitude towards digital human stylists

Authors: Francesca Bonetti; Emmanuel Sirimal Silva; Eleonora Pantano; Davit Marikyan

Addresses: Fashion Business Research, Fashion Business School, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, 272 High Holborn London, WC1V 7EV, UK; HEC Montréal, Department of Marketing, 3000, Chemin de la Côte‑Sainte‑Catherine, Montréal (Québec) 3T 2A7, Canada ' Fashion Business Research, Fashion Business School, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, 272 High Holborn London, WC1V 7EV, UK; Glasgow School for Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA Scotland, UK ' School of Management, University of Bristol, HH 4.11 Queen's Avenue, BS81SD Bristol, UK ' School of Management, University of Bristol, HH 4.11 Queen's Avenue, BS81SD Bristol, UK

Abstract: We investigate digital human stylists (DHS) - a new AI-powered form of personalised digital avatar - that can complement traditional retail services with innovative recommendations mimicking social presence. We explore the factors that can shape a positive attitude towards DHS, underpinning the interaction between consumers and machines. We employ a survey-based approach of collecting data from 357 respondents from 39 countries. Our results show that trust in technology, perceived enjoyment and usefulness lead consumers to develop relationships with DHS to access a personalised service. We also find that ease of use and social influence are important in leading consumers to fully engage with a DHS. This new form of human-computer machine emerges as a new AI service complementing traditional retail services. Our research is the first to provide empirical evidence about the factors that can improve consumers' acceptance of DHS, by making it complementary to traditional retail services.

Keywords: digital human stylists; DHS; artificial intelligence; retail service; fashion business; recommender systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2024.141881

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2024 Vol.18 No.4, pp.371 - 398

Received: 14 Jan 2023
Accepted: 23 Jan 2024
Published online: 02 Oct 2024 *

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