Abstract
Purpose: This study presents a state-of-the-art systematic review of the evolution and structure of empirical research on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in retail and offers recommendations for how AI research contributes to this field, including the current prospective context and implications for future knowledge management. It is based on 1382 articles that were published between 2012 and April 2022 in top journals.
Study design/methodology/approach: Making use of the Scopus database and a variant of the traditional Systematic Literature Network Analysis and a six-step review protocol, research articles on the use of AI in retail were extracted and analysed to uncover this topic’s intellectual development and key themes through a mixed-methods approach of quantitative bibliometric and qualitative content analyses. The bibliometric analysis allowed for scholarly analysis and visualisation of the usage of AI in retail research.
Findings: The findings highlight several implications for theory and management as well as avenues for future research directions. The analysis indicates an increase in smart retailing and AI literature during the last few years. However, none of these studies has systematically addressed the ethical challenges regarding the use of AI in retail. The area of research is fragmented in scope and has relevant gaps. The main research themes were identified as sentiment analysis, trust, personalization, and optimization. It also recognises the United States and China as leaders in this field of study.
Research limitations/implications: The final sample for this study was selected based on articles ranked 3 or above on the Academic Journal Guide 2021 and published before April 7, 2022. Therefore, articles published after this date have not been included, nor have journals that were either ranked 1 or 2 on the Academic Journal Guide 2021 or not listed at all. However, the contribution of this study remains relevant to the body of knowledge on the use of AI in retail.
Originality/value: This study makes a significant contribution and provides a systematic exploration of the extent to which academics and other stakeholders are aware of the ethical challenges when implementing AI in retail. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to attempt to synthesise AI ethics in the field of retail. It provides academics with suggestions about how to move further in this field of research. It provides practitioners with a well-organised resource for learning how AI may help them with their smart retail endeavours.