Emotional vs Rational Robot Shopping Assistants

Automated technologies like self-checkout cashiers and self-order kiosks are common in retail, but for significant purchases, many consumers still prefer human interaction over machines. For example, 54% of customers visit a physical store to inform themselves about a smartphone they want to buy , even though not all of them actually make the purchase in-store .

 Social robots, like 'Furhat,' aim to merge human-like emotional responses with machine efficiency. In Japan, which is considered the forefront of robotics technology for many years, the use of robots as shop assistant is becoming increasingly common. There is also some adoption of this technology in the western world. For example, a major European electronics retail group has used the robot 'Pepper' to explain products to customers. However, it's unclear if these robots can replace human advice in shopping contexts. Research in this area is scant, particularly regarding physically embodied social robots, with most studies lacking realism.

This research projects empirically studies how interactions with a social robot, designed to emulate human shopping assistants, impact consumer decisions. This involves creating a robot shopping assistant, based on 'Furhat,' to help with high involvement purchases, manipulating variables like robot language and facial expressions. The study compares the effects of emotional and rational robot designs on consumers' trust and purchasing likelihood, considering individual consumer traits, product characteristics, and perceptions of the robot. The project's core questions focus on understanding consumer interaction with robot assistants and the influence of these interactions on trust and purchasing decisions.

Cooperation Partner:

Prof. Dr. Alexander Mädche, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Dr. Ulrich Gnewuch, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Leon Hanschmann, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology