Exploring the factors influencing consumers' engagement with AI digital signage in retailing: evidence from Taiwan

Purpose This study aims to explore how AI digital signage functions as an experiential interface in retail settings. Drawing from Schmitt's experiential marketing framework, AI digital signage is examined as a touchpoint that delivers sensory (SENSE), affective (FEEL), cognitive (THINK) and behavioral (ACT) experiences through personalized, real-time and interactive features. By identifying the key experiential factors and performance gaps that shape consumer interactions with AI-enabled technologies, it helps to make the application of AI in retail scenarios more abundant and improve better consumer experience. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method design was employed to investigate the factors influencing consumer experience with AI digital signage in retailing. The research framework was developed based on a comprehensive literature review and expert consultation. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to determine the relative importance of experiential dimensions and criteria. Subsequently, a modified VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method was applied to identify performance gaps across the evaluated factors. Data were collected through an online survey in Taiwan, yielding 365 valid responses for AHP and 373 valid responses for the modified VIKOR analysis. Findings The results indicate that among the four experiential dimensions, sensory experience (SENSE) is considered the most influential in shaping consumer interaction with AI digital signage, followed by behavioral experience (ACT), affective experience (FEEL) and cognitive experience (THINK), based on the AHP weighting results. In contrast, the performance gap analysis using the modified VIKOR method reveals that affective experience (FEEL) has the largest gap value, followed by cognitive experience (THINK), sensory experience (SENSE) and behavioral experience (ACT). This suggests that while sensory and behavioral experiences are highly valued, affective and cognitive aspects are currently underdelivered, highlighting critical facets for improvement in enhancing consumer engagement with AI-enabled touchpoints. Practical implications This study employs a hybrid multiple-attribute decision-making approach to empirically investigate the evaluation dimension and criteria related to factors influencing consumers' experiences with AI digital signage in retailing. The results of this study provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners alike in the field, offering a valuable reference for determining the factors those impact consumers' experiences with AI digital signage when it serves as the new marketing medium. Originality/value This study bridges experiential marketing and intelligent retail technology by treating AI signage as an experiential touchpoint and evaluating its impact through a hybrid AHP–VIKOR model, offering both theoretical insight and practical guidance for smart retail engagement.