Which factors influence Belgian Millennials’ intention to use a voice assistant in their consumer journey when grocery shopping?

Emerging technologies, together with Artificial Intelligence have grown considerably over the past half-century. This advancement has generated new means of communication, such as chatbots like ChatGPT and voice assistants including Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. These technologies have not only reshaped cognitive processes and decision-making patterns among individuals but have also revolutionized consumer behaviours. A noteworthy addition to these new technologies is the advent of voice commerce, recently developed by voice assistants-owning firms. To explore the adoption of these new technologies, an extensive array of models has been developed in the literature. For this thesis, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT-2) model has been selected and extended to encompass the factors that may influence the intention to use voice assistants in the context of voice commerce in Belgium. Therefore, the primary objective of this dissertation is to identify the factors impacting the intention to use a voice assistant in the consumer journey when grocery shopping, applied to the case of Belgian Millennials. Based on the literature review, the UTAUT-2 model and the various variables added, as well as our quantitative research through an online questionnaire targeted at Belgian Millennials, several conclusions and recommendations have been drawn in relation to this subject matter to offer retailers interesting insights for the future.