The impact of service robots in retail: Exploring the effect of novelty priming on consumer behavior

This study aims to bridge a gap in the extant research by examining consumer behavior that is unrelated to, but elicited by, service robots. The results of six studies showed that participants primed with robots (vs. humans) were more likely to engage in exploratory consumption behaviors. This effect was mediated through the elicitation of a sense of novelty, affected by the degree of service robots' intelligence and moderated by consumers' subjective knowledge. The study also examines different types of exploratory buying behaviors that have implications for marketers' and retailers’ use of service robots to promote exploratory consumption. •Consumers consider service robots to be new, different, and interesting.•Consumers primed with robots tend to engage in exploratory consumption behaviors.•This effect is mediated through the elicitation of a sense of novelty.•The effect is moderated by service robots' intelligence and consumer knowledge.