Interactive media face artificial consumers and marketing theory must re-think

Abstract

In electronic commerce, the use of onLine media and agent technology offers new opportunities for research in market communication and consumer behaviour. Simultaneously existing theories are challenged. This paper deals with three important presuppositions related to that statement: (a) marketers have separated production from consumption; (b) producers should control market communication; (c) consumers are human. Contemporary research in marketing seems to be focused on the consumers and their experiences, not so much on communication technology. We have also found arguments that consumption no longer can be seen as something separate from buying, post-purchase, etc. We present media in electronic commerce that carries technology elements of interactivity, conversation and extended information search . In a number of cases we demonstrate how interactive media replace producer-to-consumer communication with conversation. In addition we make it clear that such media is used for consumer-to-consumer conversations, sometimes without producer participation. Another important finding is that agent technology has created artificial consumers . We describe these new marketing actors and ask how they differ from human consumers. Our conclusion is that while some existing theories guide us, other theories will hinder us. Finally we propose a search for new theories, rather than ways to fit new problems into old solutions.

Keywords:

• Electronic Commerce
• Agents
• Interactivity
• Conversation
• Artificial Consumer
• Internet