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Digital voice assistants (DVAs) are revolutionising consumers’ interactions with technology and businesses. Whilst research on the adoption of these devices is rapidly expanding, few have explored post-adoption behaviour. To fill this gap, we investigate how functionality and human-like features shape customers’ emotions, engagement and loyalty towards DVAs.

The data were collected through a self-administered online survey from 509 DVA users. Structural equation modelling was employed for data analysis.

The results reveal that distinct human-like and functional factors of DVA independently explain customers’ positive emotions and engagement with DVAs. Positive emotions and engagement significantly impact customer loyalty to DVAs. The study shows that localisation of DVAs has a significant positive moderating influence on the service experience-customer engagement relationship but a negative moderating influence on the anthropomorphism-customer engagement relationship.

Unlike previous research, this study contributes to the literature by delving into post-adoption phenomena. It explains how DVAs’ human-like and functional attributes drive customers’ positive emotional responses, engagement and loyalty towards DVAs. The findings not only unveil new insights into the moderating role of localisation but also provide a crucial understanding regarding the boundary conditions of the influence of anthropomorphism and service experience on customer engagement.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which the attitudinal loyalty of customers of small and medium apparel businesses is influenced by their perceptions of trust, commitment and satisfaction. In turn, the influence of their attitudinal loyalty on future behavioural loyalty is established.

A quantitative descriptive research approach was employed and questionnaires were administered to customers of three selected small and medium enterprise (SME) brands in the metropolitan city of Gaborone, Botswana. A total of 260 questionnaires were suitable for data analysis. The interrelationship of the constructs was analysed via structural equation modelling. In addition, the measurement and structural models were assessed.

Trust, commitment and satisfaction have a positive and significant influence on the attitudinal loyalty of SME customers, while attitudinal loyalty has a positive and significant influence on their behavioural loyalty.

The tested model confirms the hypothesised relationships between SME customers’ trust, commitment, satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty. Attitudinal loyalty is linked to its three antecedents (trust, commitment and satisfaction) and its outcome, behavioural loyalty.

The findings assist the management of SMEs in understanding how the cultivation of trust, commitment and satisfaction can foster attitudinal loyalty, ultimately leading to improved behavioural loyalty.

The current study contributes to new knowledge on the interrelationship of selected relationship quality dimensions, attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty among SME customers in the apparel industry of Botswana. Few research studies have examined how attitudinal loyalty relates to its antecedents and outcome in Botswana, as an emerging African economy.