Consumer Acceptance of Mobile Shopping Apps, From Basic Apps to Ai-Conversational Apps: A Literature Review

Abstract: The rapid proliferation of Digital marketing, due to recent digital transformation, has been accentuated by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This can be noticed with changes in customer shopping behavior while adopting various digital marketing tools such as social media, E & M-commerce, and very recently AI enablers such as conversational agents/apps (Virtual Assistants & Chatbots). The purpose of this paper is to present some literature findings on consumer behavior toward mobile shopping via AI-Conversational-apps (Virtual Assistants & Chatbots), as compared to Mobile basic apps. Indeed, Mobile Shopping via AI-Conversational apps and their consumer acceptance behavior have become an important research issue worldwide in terms of involved predictors, theories, and methodologies. In summary, the literature showed that Anthropomorphism Construct (i.e., the degree to which a user perceives AI-Conversational apps to be humanlike) emerged as the primary additional predictor for acceptance of M-Shopping via AI-Conversational apps (AI-CA), in addition to mobile primary apps determinants. These determinants consist of utilitarian, hedonic & social antecedents adapted mainly from the UTAUT2 model (Unified theory of acceptance & use of technology), including mainly; performance expectation & effort expectation, hedonic motivation, social influence, and facilitating conditions. Literature findings also clarified the lack & importance of multimarket & multicultural research on M-Shopping-apps’ acceptance (mainly AI-CA). Indeed, not only developed markets but also developing ones, have seen surging rates of smartphone penetration conditions & mobile internet connectivity, along with changing consumer behaviors and dominating M-Shopping-apps activities. This offers great potential for research on M-Shopping-AI-CA acceptance behaviors in such developing countries, mainly in Morocco. Keywords: Digital Marketing, Consumer behavior, Mobile Shopping, Artificial Intelligence, AI-Conversational apps. JEL Classification : M21,M31,M37,M39 Paper type: Theoretical Researc