The robot as a consumer: a

research agenda

Stanislav Ivanov

Email: stanislav.ivanov@vumk.eu

Web: http://stanislavivanov.com

Craig Webster

Email: cwebster3@bsu.edu

Marketing: experience and perspectives” Conference

29-30 June 2017, University of Economics-Varna, Bulgaria

stanislavivanov.com

Dr. Craig Webster

2

• Assistant Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA

(http://bsu.edu)

• Editor-in-chief of Tourism Today

stanislavivanov.com

Dr. Stanislav Ivanov

3

• Professor and Vice Rector (Research), Varna University of Management, Bulgaria (http://www.vum.bg)

• Editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Tourism Research (http://ejtr.vumk.eu)

• CEO of Zangador Ltd. (http://www.zangador.eu)

stanislavivanov.com

Marketing theory implicitly assumes that the consumer is a

human being …

4

stanislavivanov.com

… but robots have arrived!

5

stanislavivanov.com

6

stanislavivanov.com

Autonomous car’s involvement in the

consumer behaviour of its owner

7

Stage Autonomous car’s involvement

Need recognition Identify the need for car maintenance after specific number of

kilometres or months since last maintenance

Information search Find authorised car maintenance centres

Evaluation of alternatives Find available time slots at authorised car maintenance centres

Decide on the specific service and price

Purchase decision Select the time slot that best matches the schedule of the owner

Purchase Make payment with the e-wallet of the owner

Consumption process Drive to the car maintenance centre

Undergo maintenance

Drive back to the owner’s home

Post-consumption

behaviour

Perform check whether the systems of the car operate properly

Inform the owner, the insurance company, and transportation

authorities that the annual scheduled maintenance took place

stanislavivanov.com

If a robot can make these decisions, who is the consumer then – the robot or its owner?

8

stanislavivanov.com

The robot as a consumer: a research

agenda (1/7)Decision-making process:• Which buying decisions will human consumers delegate to their robots or

digital assistants and which will they keep for themselves?

• What factors would determine the humans’ choice to delegate buying decisions to their robots or digital assistants?

• How will robots/digital assistants influence the consumer behaviour of their owners?

• Will humans trust the buying decisions of their robots or digital assistants? How can this trust be nurtured?

• How will the delegation of decision-making influence human consumers’ level of satisfaction with the outcome of the purchase decision?

• How would human customers’ perceptions of product/service quality change when their robots make the purchase?

• What types of decision making processes will robots / digital assistants likely adhere to? How will they be different from the processes of human consumers?

9

stanislavivanov.com

The robot as a consumer: a research

agenda (2/7)Marketing strategy and competitiveness:• How will companies’ business models have to change in order to

serve the new robot consumers?

• How will competition change when companies face consumers who can process much more information and do it faster than human beings?

• How will entry barriers into an industry change when robots / AI take predominantly the consumer buying decisions in it?

• What will constitute the ‘brand’ and how should companies develop successful branding strategy when robots make purchase decisions?

• How will companies manage the relationships with their robot consumers?

• What will be the profit impact for companies of targeting robot consumers?

10

stanislavivanov.com

The robot as a consumer: a research

agenda (3/7)Marketing mix:• What will be the impact of robot consumers on product

offerings in the different sectors of the economy?

• How should facilities and premises (e.g. hotels, restaurants, buses, trains, airports, houses, etc.) be adapted to serve physically robot consumers?

• How will product pricing and companies’ pricing strategies be influenced by the new type of consumers?

• How should companies reorganise their marketing communications in order to reach the robot consumers and be included in their consideration sets?

• How will distribution channels stratify in regard to their access to the robot consumers?

11

stanislavivanov.com

The robot as a consumer: a research

agenda (4/7)Marketing ethics:

• What ethical issues would appear or disappear when companies serve robot consumers rather than human consumers?

• How can these ethical issues be solved, avoided, regulated?

• At what point do robots with advanced AI have to be treated in an ethical way, achieving “human rights” as consumers?

12

stanislavivanov.com

The robot as a consumer: a research

agenda (5/7)Marketing organisation:

• What knowledge, skills, and competences do marketing specialists need in order to attract the robot consumers?

• How will marketing departments of companies change? Will they need to rely more on robots/AI to serve the robot/AI consumers? How will they be restructured?

13

stanislavivanov.com

The robot as a consumer: a research

agenda (6/7)Marketing education:

• How should the curricula of graduate and undergraduate marketing programmes change in order to prepare competent graduate who can deal with robot consumers?

• How will higher education institutions change in order to respond to the new realities? Will robots substitute marketing teachers?

14

stanislavivanov.com

The robot as a consumer: a research

agenda (7/7)Marketing legislation:

• How should legislation be adapted to reflect the new robot consumers?

• How legally binding for the robot owner would the purchase contracts made by his robot be? How could robot owners terminate purchase contracts made by their robots?

15

stanislavivanov.com

THANK YOU FOR THE ATTENTION!

QUESTIONS?

16