Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of unmanned stores, driven by cost reduction, operational efficiency, and consumer preference for contactless shopping. Despite rapid industry growth, academic research on consumer behavior in unmanned retail remains limited. This study integrates cognitive trust from customer satisfaction theory and perceived ease of use from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to identify key cognitive factors influencing customer satisfaction.Research Design, Data, and Methodology: An extended research model was developed, positioning corporate reputation, price competitiveness, store layout, and merchandising as antecedents of cognitive trust, and technological reliability and ease of payment as antecedents of perceived ease of use. Data from 300 Korean consumers with unmanned store experience were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).Results: The analysis confirmed significant effects of corporate reputation, price competitiveness, store lay out, and merchandising on cognitive trust, and technological reliability and ease of payment on perceived ease of use. Perceived ease of use mediated cognitive trust, and both factors positively influenced customer satisfaction. The model demonstrated good explanatory power and fit.Implications: Findings emphasize that consumer satisfaction in unmanned stores depends primarily on psychological factors such as trust and technological acceptance rather than mere convenience or price. Practically, retailers should prioritize enhancing brand reputation, price fairness, product assortment, store lay out, and intuitive payment systems. Future research may include comparative studies across different unmanned store types, moderating effects of consumer technology acceptance, and longitudinal analyses of repeat use and loyalty development.
Kim et al. (Fri,) studied this question.