Leveraging AI to drive online impulse buying: a SOBC perspective

Purpose AI has significantly shaped the future of online commerce, with AI-enabled services playing a key role in driving impulse buying. Impulse buying occurs when consumers act on an impulsive urge to buy, often without prior planning or careful consideration of reasons or consequences. This study extends the stimulus-organism-behaviour-consequence model (SOBC) to explore the impact of AI-enabled services on online impulse buying in the e-retailing context. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was used to collect data from 325 Indian online shoppers, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings Our results showed that AI service quality, measured by security, reliability, accuracy, timeliness and interfaces, is significantly related to consumers’ perceived hedonic and utilitarian values. Personalization was also found to have a positive relationship with both hedonic and utilitarian perceived values. Furthermore, the study shows that perceived hedonic value significantly influences the urge to buy impulsively, whereas utilitarian value does not. The findings also confirmed a significant relationship between impulse buying and the urge to buy. The relationship between the urge to buy and impulse buying is positively moderated by trust. Practical implications The present study has practical implications for effectively leveraging AI services, formulating sound strategies to harness impulsive purchases and fostering business development. Originality/value This study confirms the SOBC theory's applicability for exploring the facet of impulse-buying behaviour in an AI-enabled e-retailing context. In addition, the study confirmed impulse buying behaviour as a critical determinant of the urge to buy.