Chatbots that win hearts and wallets: Maximizing customer satisfaction and repeat purchases

This study examines how customer satisfaction and their repurchase intentions are shaped by chatbot interactions in online shopping experience. Three human-like chatbot attributes, i.e., responsiveness, anthropomorphism, and social presence, are examined for their influence on customer satisfaction and their repurchase intentions. The moderating influence of e-shopping enjoyment over the relationship between customer satisfaction and their repurchase intentions is assessed. Flow theory is used as an overarching theory to build the research model and explain the results. The data was collected through questionnaire survey from 344 Chinese online shopping participants. We used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the collected data. Findings state that chatbots with responsiveness, anthropomorphism, and social presence are much better equipped to satisfy customer needs. In addition, results show that customer satisfaction affects repurchase intentions. Besides, our findings show that e-shopping enjoyment makes satisfaction even more influential on repurchase intentions. It implies that the affective and attention-demanding aspects of e-commerce play their part in defining a customer's intentions toward repeat purchases. This study will serve as a useful reference for e-commerce platforms that intend to use chatbots to increase customer engagement and loyalty, and marketers who could benefit from their activities.