Purpose

In this digitalization age, smart technologies are on the cusp of changing all business sector including retailing. Today’s consumers desire to shop in a smart store where the physical products on display are connected to the internet world. This study aims to propose a model for investigating Generation Z (Gen-Z) consumers’ expectations towards the smart retail technology (SRT) in the Malaysian context through the application of the stimulus-organism-response framework.

Design/methodology/approach

By using a purposive sampling technique, a self-administered questionnaire was conducted. A total of 220 usable responses were collected from Gen-Z consumers who had experience in using SRT. The data were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

This study underscores the role of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and perceived value on Gen-Z consumers’ attitude and word-of-mouth (WOM). Expectations on usefulness, enjoyment and value provide some ideas on Gen-Z consumers’ value who put a high emphasis on functional value, fun value and value for money when adopting the SRT. On the other hand, the result also demonstrates the mediating role of consumers’ attitude in connecting perceived value and perceived enjoyment on WOM towards SRT.

Practical implications

The findings of this study provide beneficial insights for a retailer who desire to pursue a smart-related acquisition strategy. Retailers are recommended to embrace on the following three key features: innovative solution (high usefulness), reliable benefits (high perceived value) and fun experience (high enjoyment) to provide Gen-Z consumers with compelling experiences. Additionally, retailers are suggested to acknowledge the importance of managing consumers’ attitude in driving positive WOM evaluations.

Originality/value

This paper responds to Ting et al.’s (2018) call in uncovering values and lifestyles of generation in details. In Malaysia, retailers ought to incorporate of the high level of usefulness, value and enjoyment when designing their SRT to constitute the Gen-Z consumers’ expectations. Moreover, similar to Ting’s conclusion, this cohort members are very much into technologies and they tend to embrace SRT in their lifestyles.

中文翻译：

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镜子，墙上的镜子，我们准备好迎接市场上的 Z 世代了吗？马来西亚智能零售技术研究

目的

在这个数字化时代，智能技术正处于改变包括零售在内的所有业务领域的风口浪尖。今天的消费者希望在智能商店购物，在那里展示的实体产品连接到互联网世界。本研究旨在提出一个模型，通过应用刺激-生物-反应框架来调查 Z 世代 (Gen-Z) 消费者对马来西亚环境中智能零售技术 (SRT) 的期望。

设计/方法/方法

通过使用有目的的抽样技术，进行了自我管理的问卷调查。从有使用 SRT 经验的 Gen-Z 消费者那里收集了总共 220 个可用的响应。使用偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）分析数据。

发现

本研究强调了感知有用性、感知享受和感知价值对 Z 世代消费者态度和口碑 (WOM) 的作用。对有用性、享受性和价值的期望为 Z 世代消费者在采用 SRT 时高度重视功能价值、乐趣价值和物有所值的价值提供了一些想法。另一方面，结果也证明了消费者态度在将口碑上的感知价值和感知享受联系到 SRT 中的中介作用。

实际影响

本研究的结果为希望采用智能相关收购策略的零售商提供了有益的见解。建议零售商采用以下三个关键特征：创新解决方案（高实用性）、可靠收益（高感知价值）和有趣体验（高享受），为 Z 世代消费者提供引人入胜的体验。此外，建议零售商承认管理消费者态度在推动积极的 WOM 评估中的重要性。

原创性/价值

本文响应 Ting等人(2018) 呼吁详细揭示一代人的价值观和生活方式。在马来西亚，零售商在设计 SRT 时应结合高水平的实用性、价值和享受，以构成 Z 世代消费者的期望。此外，与 Ting 的结论类似，该队列成员非常热衷于技术，并且倾向于在他们的生活方式中接受 SRT。