Abstract
Purpose - By adopting a Social Presence perspective, this paper aims to investigate the use of chatbots in in-store mobile promotions. Specifically, it examines whether chatbot mobile promotions affect consumers attitudes and intentions to redeem the promotion. Methodology - This work adopts an experimental approach and report three lab experiments. Findings - Findings show that chatbot (vs. regular) in-store mobile promotions increase mobile promotion effectiveness. Specifically, Study 1 shows that chatbot mobile promotions result in higher positive attitudes toward the promotion and higher intentions to redeem the offer. Study 2 demonstrate that the positive effect of chatbot mobile promotions is driven by an increase of perceived intimacy and a decrease of perceived intrusiveness. Study 3 demonstrates that humanlike chatbots further boost in-store mobile promotions effectiveness. Originality - This study is one of the first to investigate the use of chatbot in in-store mobile promotion and it offers empirical insights and conceptual clarity into the persuasiveness of AI technology.