Consumers' promotion focus mitigates the negative effects of chatbots on purchase likelihood

Abstract

Marketers and consumers are adopting chatbots widely. However, the benefits of this technology remain unclear due to a lack of understanding about individual differences in consumers' purchase decisions when interacting with chatbots. This research investigates the influence of individual differences in promotion focus on purchase likelihood for the products recommended by chatbots. Two experiments demonstrated that consumers generally report a lower purchase likelihood for products recommended by chatbots (vs humans). However, compared to consumers with a low promotion focus, consumers with a high promotion focus report a higher purchase likelihood for the products. The findings also suggest that the relationship between consumer individual differences in promotion focus and purchase likelihood is mediated by engagement. By applying both regulatory focus and regulatory fit theories, the present study provides insights into how promotion focus influences purchase likelihood for products recommended by chatbots. Marketers can utilise both chronic and situational promotion focus to improve consumers' reactions to chatbots using segmentation and promotion‐focus‐related words, respectively.