Wits Business School (ETDs)
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Item Influence of AI Personalisation on E-commerce customer experience and purchase decisions in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Sookhdeo, Lavina; Moodley, KebashneeCovid-19 has underscored the importance of organisations to invest in E- commerce for sustainability and has accelerated E-commerce adoption globally and in South Africa. E-tailers need to look beyond product catalogues and competitive pricing and promotions for differentiation and look towards providing superior customer experience for competitive advantage. Artificial Intelligence is a transformational technology that can be harnessed for enhanced personalised interactions and customer experience in E-commerce. The study investigates Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities that enable personalisation features in E-commerce, and examines how the Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Relative Advantage and Voluntariness of Use of AI personalisation features in this medium influence Customer Experience, Purchase Intention, Repeat Purchases Intention and Loyalty. An online survey was conducted with local online shoppers to gather their feedback on the use of AI-enabled personalisation features on E-Commerce. Factor analysis including Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the results. The results indicate that both Relative Advantage and Voluntariness of Use of AI personalisation in E-commerce, positively and significantly influence Customer Experience as well as customer Purchase Decisions. Perceived Ease of Use positively influences customer experience and negatively influences purchase decisions, although both effects are insignificant. Finally, Perceived Usefulness is found to have a negative, albeit insignificant influence on both Customer Experience and Purchase Decisions. These findings contribute a South African perspective on understanding customer perceptions of AI personalisation applications in E-Commerce.Item Awareness of cookie deprecation and implications for digital marketing strategies in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Pillat, CelesteThe phasing out of third-party cookie tracking in response to regulation to protect personal information, poses a challenge to Digital Marketers and personalised communication to customers. The paradox between privacy and personalisation is a new concept and as such the purpose of this study was to understand whether Digital Marketers are aware of cookie deprecation, the impact on Digital Marketing strategies and the approach to personalisation. An explorative qualitative design was chosen for the research, employing phenomenological methodology. The sample comprised of digital marketers, analysts, and media specialists for diverse perspectives. Data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, with thematic network analysis helping to find connections in data. The findings suggest that while Digital Marketers are aware of cookie deprecation, many are unaware of the possible impact on their strategies, or how to approach changes. Change was about a common theme with a pervasive undertone of anxiety. Digital maturity was an important factor for evaluating technological change, with gaps in future ready skills identified. The implications of cookie deprecation were extensive, surfacing a heavy reliance on first-party CRM data at the core for personalisation in strategies. Further implications include the ad-tech ecosystem needing to adopt innovative alternate methods of tracking which also impacts publishers, measurement and tracking. Regulation impacts companies and the need to ensure data collection is compliant. The importance of privacy in digital marketing strategies remains crucial as change is constantItem The role of personalisation in digital advertising on consumer decision making in the South African context.(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Jansen, Bareile; Ndlela, ThubelihleThe surge in digital advertising has redefined the consumer landscape, profoundly impacting decision-making processes related to brand and product choices, which has ultimately led to digital brand saturation (Agrawani, 2022). Digital brand saturation could potentially lead to consumer decision making frustration, unnecessary marketing to the wrong audience, costly expenses related to that, and an increase in the need for personalisation (Agrawani, 2022). Despite extensive research on digital advertising's impact on consumer decisions, there is a lack of studies focusing on the effects of personalisation on consumer behaviour in South Africa. This study employs a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews analysed via thematic analysis, with convenience sampling to select the 20 participants for this study (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This method was practical for gathering data efficiently within the study’s constraints. The findings of the study highlight the critical role of relevant advertising in engaging consumers and underscore the importance of ethical data practices to build consumer trust Drawing upon foundational literature in consumer behaviour, marketing ethics, and cross-cultural studies, this study seeked to inform decision-making and promote ethical practices in personalised advertising. The conclusions emphasise the critical importance of relevance, transparency, and consumer autonomy in developing effective advertising strategies and building trust in brand-consumer relationships. By integrating these elements, the study underscores the need for aligning advertising practices with ethical standards to foster meaningful and trustworthy interactions between brands and consumers.Item A meal preparation and delivery service business in Maseru(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Raphuthing, LomileThe purpose of this study was to assess consumer preference for an online meal ordering and payment service in the food industry in Maseru, Lesotho. This service would offer office bound workers delivery of a variety of light meal alternatives, even catering for specific dietary preferences such as Banting and vegetarian. Lesotho is a small landlocked country in Southern Africa, wholly encircled by South Africa, and one of 46 countries that falls into the United Nations category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) (UN, 2019). With South Africa being a more developed country and with better facilities and services all round, Basotho people continuously import South African goods, services, and culture, including ways of eating (Rantšo, 2017). In many areas of urban South Africa, consumers take it for granted that they can access a variety of prepared meals and have them to their door. This experience companies likes Mr. Delivery and Uber eats have made ordinary. Conversely, very few delivery services currently exist in Lesotho. The research explored the preference of Maseru’s working-class towards a new meal preparation start-up offering a menu with freshly prepared healthy eating alternatives paired with the convenience of delivery to the office in time for their lunch break. The research question was answered by collecting data from 60 potential customers, being office bound workers, from both the private and public sectors in Maseru within the 24 to 50 year age range. Data was collected using an electronic survey and analysed using Microsoft Excel and a statistical programme called Jasp.014. Frequencies and related graphs were created in Microsoft Excel, while Jasp.014 was used for Chi-Square calculations.Item Personalised social media advertising and its influence on online purchase intentions: a South African outlook(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Lutchman, Shanice S.S.; Saini, Yvonne K.Digital, social media and eCommerce are on the rise with daily rapid changes, even more so with the impact of COVID-19. Due to this evolution, consumer behaviour has advanced. Consumers are seen as digitally savvy, informed and seek value from engagements with businesses. From a market perspective, social media has historically served as a platform to assist businesses to engage with consumers. However, this has proven less effective in recent times. An antecedent of bridging this gap is personalisation. Within the current literature, there is limited knowledge on the relationship between the themes of personalisation, social media and online purchase, especially focused on the South African market. This study sought to bridge the above-identified gaps from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. The main objective of this study aimed to highlight the significant influence personalised social media adverts have on online purchase intentions. The major finding from this study was that personalised social media advertising does indeed influence online purchase intentions of South Africans. The next key findings from this study identified all four social media platforms (WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram) to have a significant influence on online clothing purchase intention through a personalised advert as it was perceived as of relevance and value. Lastly, Instagram was found to have had the strongest influence out of the four social media channels on online purchase intentions. Therefore, the implications for businesses and marketers alike should be looking at personalised social media strategies to drive online purchase intention, especially through the social media platform Instagram.Item The activation of individual customer intimacy towards a financial organisation through personalised marketing in South Africa(2021) Visagie, MarnéSouth African financial organisations face challenges to emotionally connect with a diverse, financially vulnerable consumer market. It is well-researched that building customer value drives growth and profitability. This study explores the concept of customer intimacy – a value discipline presented by Treacy and Wiersema (1993) – as a marketing strategy focused on perceptions of value to create, communicate and deliver emotional experiences. It investigates personalisation as the leveraged customer information and one-to-one customer relationship to individually target and activate a customer’s feelings of intimacy during digital interactions. In this context, when a customer feels understood and appreciated, they experience intimacy, a warm feeling, or a sense of belonging. Social connections might draw attention, motivate engagement, and positively influence attitudes and behaviours to build emotional connections. A neuromarketing experiment observed the personalised experience and intimacy effect to predict an emotional connection. Adapting to remote research during the Covid-19 pandemic required three instruments: facial coding, an interview, and a survey. Two groups were selected; existing clients (emotionally connected) and non-clients (not connected). They joined an online video meeting to interact with two different email communications. Recorded emotional responses were analysed with facial expression software, themes, and statistics. Results reveal a positive relationship: personalisation as an intimate experience is significant in predicting the customer’s attitude towards the organisation. The two critical intimacy influencers are the accuracy of the organisation’s customer knowledge and the quality of the financial adviser relationship. Two surprising findings were extracted; the emotionally connected responded insignificantly, while non-clients reacted significantly. Also, the customer knowledge an adviser holds might have an adverse effect on the experience. Findings suggest that personalisation and multiple intimate interactions support the activation of an emotional connection. Implementing and activating individual customer intimacy requires individual targeting, close relationships, and personalised marketing campaigns