The relationship between AI stimuli and customer stickiness, and the roles of social presence and customer traits

Purpose This study investigates the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) stimuli on customer stickiness (CS), the mediation effects of social presence (SP) and the moderating impacts of customer traits in this influencing process. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the arousal theory and social response theory, a conceptual model was established and tested by a data set of 268 customers in the catering industry. Findings The results indicate that AI stimuli, such as perceived personalization and perceived interactivity, positively affect CS. SP partially mediates the influence of AI stimuli on CS. Customer traits such as customers' need for interaction (NFI) and novelty seeking (NS) actively moderate the mediating effects of SP. Originality/value This study advances the interactive marketing literature from three aspects. Firstly, instead of focusing on the functional aspects of AI stimuli, it extends our understanding of AI-enabled interactive marketing by examining the effects of social and emotional aspects of AI stimuli on customer response. Secondly, it extends our understanding of social response by illuminating the mediating effects of SP between AI stimuli and CS. Finally, it provides new insights and empirical evidence for the research focus on customer traits in AI-enabled interactive marketing.