The influence of technology anxiety on consumer use and experiences with self-service technologies

The explosion of new technologies is revolutionizing the retail environment. Yet, not all consumers choose to use the new technologies nor do all consumers see these changes as improvements. In this research, we explore usage patterns and benefits of using self-service technologies (SSTs) based on a sample of 823 consumers. We also assess the influence of individual characteristics, specifically technology anxiety (TA) and particular demographics, on SST usage patterns and satisfaction levels. The findings indicate that respondents with higher levels of TA use fewer SSTs and that TA is a better, more consistent predictor of SST usage than are demographic variables. In addition, TA was found to influence overall levels of satisfaction, intentions to use the SST again and the likelihood of participating in positive word-of-mouth for those consumers who had an initially satisfying experience. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.