AI Hyper-Personalization and Purchase Avoidance Behavior: The Mediating Role of Psychological Privacy Intrusion
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This study investigates the impact of AI hyper-personalization on purchase avoidance behavior through the mediating role of Perceived Psychological Privacy Intrusion among Egyptian digital consumers. Drawing on Privacy Regulation Theory, Psychological Reactance Theory, and the Personalization–Privacy Paradox framework, the study develops a conceptual model explaining how AI-driven personalization may trigger negative consumer reactions in digital marketplaces. A quantitative research approach was employed using a structured online questionnaire distributed to Egyptian consumers who regularly interact with AI-powered shopping and recommendation platforms. The collected data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that AI hyper-personalization does not directly influence purchase avoidance behavior. However, it significantly increases consumers’ perceptions of psychological privacy intrusion, which subsequently leads to higher levels of purchase avoidance. Furthermore, the mediation analysis demonstrates that Perceived Psychological Privacy Intrusion fully mediates the relationship between AI hyper-personalization and purchase avoidance behavior. The study contributes theoretically by integrating multiple privacy and consumer behavior theories into a unified explanatory framework. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of transparent, ethical, and psychologically sensitive personalization strategies that balance personalization effectiveness with consumers’ perceptions of privacy and autonomy.
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