E-Commerce Chatbots and Their Impact on Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Continuous Usage:A Moderation Analysis of Generations Y and Z

Abstract

This study investigated how e-commerce chatbots impact customer satisfaction, loyalty, and continuous usage, and tested generational cohort (Gen Y vs. Gen Z) as a moderating factor. Using a quantitative, causal-predictive PLS-SEM design, data were gathered from 400 Filipino chatbot users equally split between both generations. Results show that information quality, system quality, and chatbot experience significantly affected perceived privacy risk, which subsequently influenced customer satisfaction directly and via the need for human interaction. Furthermore, satisfaction and loyalty strongly predicted continuous usage, validating all direct and mediated hypotheses. However, multigroup analysis revealed no significant generational moderation, indicating that Generations Y and Z behave equivalently in post-adoption usage. The study recommends a unified, generation-agnostic chatbot strategy prioritizing data privacy and seamless human-escalation pathways to drive long-term customer retention.