The document outlines a research agenda on the robot as a consumer. It proposes several areas of inquiry, including how human consumers will delegate buying decisions to robots/digital assistants, how this will influence decision making processes and levels of satisfaction, and how marketing strategy, mix, ethics, organization, education, and legislation may need to adapt with robot consumers. Understanding these issues will be important as robots arrive to participate in consumer behavior.

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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)

4. stanislavivanov.com
Marketing theory implicitly
assumes that the consumer is a
human being …
4

5. stanislavivanov.com
… but robots have arrived!
5

6. stanislavivanov.com
6

7. 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

8. stanislavivanov.com
If a robot can make these
decisions, who is the consumer
then – the robot or its owner?
8

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. stanislavivanov.com
THANK YOU FOR THE
ATTENTION!
QUESTIONS?
16