Factors Influencing Consumer Acceptance of AI-powered Shopping Assistants: Evidence from Jumia Sierra Leone
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55578/jift.2603.004Keywords:
Attitude towards AI, Behavioural intention to use, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, Sierra LeoneAbstract
The National Innovation and Digital Strategy (2019–2029) of Sierra Leone emphasizes the application of technology to foster economic growth, improve service provision, and invigorate trade. This strategy emphasizes including digital tools in corporate framework and adherence to the United Nations E-Commerce and Digital Economy Principles. Despite adopting this strategy, the country still faced significant issues regarding implementing and adopting AI-powered tools to assist customers in shopping. This study explored factors influencing consumer acceptance of AI-powered shopping assistants in Sierra, with a significant focus on customers of Jumia Sierra Leone. Through the snowball sampling technique, the study collected data using Google Forms from 384 customers who have been using Jumia. The collected data was analyzed using the structural equation model (SEM) and bootstrapping method of AMOS software. The study found that the perceived usefulness of AI-powered shopping assistants had a positive and significant impact on behavior intention toward AI-powered shopping assistants. It was discovered that perceived ease of use of AI-powered shopping assistants had a negative and significant impact on behavior intention toward AI-powered shopping assistants. The results reveal that attitudes towards AI partially mediate the relationship between perceived usefulness, ease of use, and behavior intention toward AI-powered shopping assistants. Jumia should highlight the benefits of its AI-driven shopping assistants, enhancing the shopping experience and time efficiency and providing tailored recommendations.
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The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the first and corresponding author.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sulaiman Kamara, Saidu Koroma, Abdul Caesar Fofanah (Author)
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