The impact of automation and optimization on customer experience: a consumer perspective

The adoption of digital technologies has significantly transformed businesses and society as a whole. The automation of tasks is leading to changes in organizational structures and strategies. Due to technological growth, users are able to identify the benefits and risks that technology can entail in the purchasing process. Specifically, robotic process automation (RPA) can improve efficiency and agility in a company, which in turn can positively impact consumer satisfaction and engagement. However, automation can also negatively affect the consumer experience and service quality if not applied correctly. Therefore, this research focuses on analyzing the impact of automation technologies on purchasing processes and consumer satisfaction. For this purpose, a survey was developed by means of the Likert 5-point scale, which allowed for obtaining 215 valid responses from consumers in the Community of Madrid. The data were processed through the SPSS tool, which enabled the analysis of the data and the proposed model. Consequently, the results show that potential RPA-based automation and optimization of processes can be of great utility for businesses to better address investment for improving consumer satisfaction. In addition, it should be highlighted that this research contributes in an original way to the area of information and communication technologies by allowing for the development of proactive technological implementation plans that consider end-user satisfaction.