scholarly journals Mobile Apps in Retail: Determinants of Consumer Acceptance – A Systematic Review

Author(s):  
Atilla Wohllebe ◽  
Phyllis Dirrler ◽  
Szilárd Podruzsik

With the increasing relevance of smartphones, more and more companies are trying to use mobile apps for their business purposes. At the same time, the digital transformation and online trade are putting increasing pressure on the stationary retail trade. Many retailers are therefore looking for ways to use mobile apps to attract new customers or retain existing ones. With the growing number of mobile apps in the app marketplaces, the sustainable loyalty of app users is becoming an increasing challenge. For retailers, the question arises as to which determinants influence consumer acceptance of mobile apps in retail. From an initial 44,800 search results at Google Scholar, 18 scientific papers are analyzed in a qualitative synthesis by means of a systematic review based on the PRISMA schema. In general, perceived value, practical benefits and user-friendliness are identified as determinants. In addition, the importance of linking the mobile app to the stationary POS and the function of mobile apps in retail more as digital shopping assistants and less as online stores is highlighted. The retailer who publishes the app itself also plays an important role in the consumer acceptance of the app.

Author(s):  
Atilla Wohllebe

Using push notifications, companies can address their smartphone app users with advertising messages. Each of these notifications can mean added value for smartphone users in terms of content, but also disruption and interruption. It is therefore important for advertisers to understand how the frequency of message delivery influences consumer acceptance. The systematic review is based on the PRISMA method and initially identifies a total of 18,725 potentially relevant scientific papers. The 17 research articles included in the qualitative synthesis show that push notifications are suitable for encouraging users to use an app and establish new habits. App usage increases with frequency, with particularly active users tolerating higher frequencies. At the same time it is also shown that too high a frequency can be perceived as disturbing and users should therefore be given the opportunity to determine the frequency with which they receive notifications. A gap in research has been identified in particular in studies that look at real observed behaviour of app users instead of behaviour reported via questionnaires and examine the interaction of frequency, content and presentation of notifications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Khuda Bux Jalbani ◽  
Muhammad Yousaf ◽  
Muhammad Shahzad Sarfraz ◽  
Rozita Jamili Oskouei ◽  
Akhtar Hussain ◽  
...  

As the SQL injection attack is still at the top of the list at Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) for more than one decade, this type of attack created too many types of issues for a web application, sensors, or any similar type of applications, such as leakage of user private data and organization intellectual property, or may cause Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. This paper focused on the poor coding or invalidated input field which is a big cause of services unavailability for web applications. Secondly, it focused on the selection of program created issues for the WebSocket connections between sensors and the webserver. The number of users is growing to use web applications and mobile apps. These web applications or mobile apps are used for different purposes such as tracking vehicles, banking services, online stores for shopping, taxi booking, logistics, education, monitoring user activities, collecting data, or sending any instructions to sensors, and social websites. Web applications are easy to develop with less time and at a low cost. Due to that, business community or individual service provider’s first choice is to have a website and mobile app. So everyone is trying to provide 24/7 services to its users without any downtime. But there are some critical issues of web application design and development. These problems are leading to too many security loopholes for web servers, web applications, and its user’s privacy. Because of poor coding and validation of input fields, these web applications are vulnerable to SQL Injection and other security problems. Instead of using the latest third-party frameworks, language for website development, and version database server, another factor to disturb the services of a web server may be the socket programming for sensors at the production level. These sensors are installed in vehicles to track or use them for booking mobile apps.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246061
Author(s):  
Agustín Ciapponi ◽  
Manuel Donato ◽  
A. Metin Gülmezoglu ◽  
Tomás Alconada ◽  
Ariel Bardach

The use of substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM) leads to significant health and economic consequences, like treatment failure, rise of antimicrobial resistance, extra expenditures of individuals or households and serious adverse drug reactions including death. Our objective was to systematically search, identify and compare relevant available mobile applications (apps) for smartphones and tablets, which use could potentially affect clinical and public health outcomes. We carried out a systematic review of the literature in January 2020, including major medical databases, and app stores. We used the validated Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to assess the quality of apps, (1 worst score, 3 acceptable score, and 5 best score). We planned to evaluate the accuracy of the mobile apps to detect SCM. We retrieved 335 references through medical databases and 42 from Apple, Google stores and Google Scholar. We finally included two studies of the medical database, 25 apps (eight from the App Store, eight from Google Play, eight from both stores, and one from Google Scholar), and 16 websites. We only found one report on the accuracy of a mobile apps detecting SCMs. Most apps use the imprint, color or shape for pill identification, and only a few offer pill detection through photographs or bar code. The MARS mean score for the apps was 3.17 (acceptable), with a maximum of 4.9 and a minimum of 1.1. The ‘functionality’ dimension resulted in the highest mean score (3.4), while the ‘engagement’ and ‘information’ dimensions showed the lowest one (3.0). In conclusion, we found a remarkable evidence gap about the accuracy of mobile apps in detecting SCMs. However, mobile apps could potentially be useful to screen for SCM by assessing the physical characteristics of pills, although this should still be assessed in properly designed research studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Buys ◽  
J Claes ◽  
N Cornelis ◽  
L Alen ◽  
T Bogaert ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Background  Adequate levels of physical activity (PA) and a healthy diet can contribute to weight loss, improved blood pressure, improved lipid levels and higher insulin sensitivity and thus decrease the risk for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, mobile technologies, such as mobile applications (apps) have been developed for supporting adherence to a healthy lifestyle in an individualized and interactive manner.  Purpose  The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the effectiveness of such mobile apps targeting PA and/or dietary behavior and cardiovascular risk factors in primary and secondary prevention.  Methods Four databases (Pubmed, Sportdiscus, Cinahl, Embase) were searched to identify prospective studies evaluating mobile apps targeting healthy diet and/or PA. Rayyan software was used for screening articles. Only interventional trials that assessed the effectiveness of health apps on diet, PA and/or cardiovascular risk factors were included. Quality assessment was performed using the MINORS tool. Qualitative synthesis was performed providing data summaries according to different subgroups: healthy adults, adults who are overweight, have obesity, hypertension, CVD or diabetes.  Results Out of 7073 records identified, 52 articles, reporting on 44 studies with variable study designs, could be included in qualitative synthesis. Interventions targeted diet, PA and/or adherence to therapy/healthy lifestyle and reported on at least one cardiovascular risk factor. In 20 studies, weight loss was a target of the mobile intervention, the vast majority (17/20 studies) reported weight loss following app usage of at least similar extent as usual care. Twenty-six mobile interventions targeted PA and/or exercise training and 23 of them resulted in an increase in PA in the short term. Four studies performed in patients with CVD showed that health app usage could be related to increased PA and improved diet, resulting in similar health benefits as usual care. The most commonly employed behavioural change methods were goal setting and self-monitoring, the use of financial incentives for inducing beneficial lifestyle changes yielded inconclusive results. Main limitations of the studies were small sample sizes, short follow-up duration and lack of controlled trial design.  Conclusion Mobile apps targeting healthy lifestyle for the management of cardiovascular risk factors seem to be valuable tools to add to current practice in preventive medicine. However, larger, controlled studies with longer follow-up duration are needed to confirm these early findings.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madison Milne-Ives ◽  
Ching Lam ◽  
Michelle Helena Van Velthoven ◽  
Edward Meinert

BACKGROUND The popularity and ubiquity of mobile apps have rapidly expanded in the past decade. With a growing focus on patient interaction with health management, mobile apps are increasingly used to monitor health and deliver behavioral interventions. The considerable variation in these mobile health apps, from their target patient group to their health behavior, and their behavioral change strategy, has resulted in a large but incohesive body of literature. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this protocol is to provide an overview of the current landscape, theories behind, and effectiveness of mobile apps for health behavior change. METHODS The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols will be used to structure this protocol. The focus of the systematic review is guided by a population, intervention, comparator, and outcome framework. A systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science will be conducted. Two authors will independently screen the titles and abstracts of identified references and select studies according to the eligibility criteria. Any discrepancies will then be discussed and resolved. One reviewer will extract data into a standardized form, which will be validated by a second reviewer. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool, and a descriptive analysis will summarize the effectiveness of all the apps. RESULTS As of November 2019, the systematic review has been completed and is in peer review for publication. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review will summarize the current mobile app technologies and their effectiveness, usability, and coherence with behavior change theory. It will identify areas of improvement (where there is no evidence of efficacy) and help inform the development of more useful and engaging mobile health apps. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/16931


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virtudes Pérez-Jover ◽  
Marina Sala-González ◽  
Mercedes Guilabert ◽  
José Joaquín Mira

BACKGROUND It is estimated that 20% to 50% of patients do not take their medication correctly, and this leads to increased morbidity and inefficacy of therapeutic approaches. Fostering treatment adherence is a priority objective for all health systems. The growth of mobile apps to facilitate therapeutic adherence has significantly increased in recent years. However, the effectiveness of the apps for this purpose has not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to analyze whether mobile apps are perceived as useful for managing medication at home and if they actually contribute to increasing treatment adherence in patients. METHODS We carried out a systematic review of research published using Scopus, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, and MEDLINE databases and analyzed the information about their contribution to increasing therapeutic adherence and the perceived usefulness of mobile apps. This review examined studies published between 2000 and 2017. RESULTS Overall, 11 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The sample sizes of these studies varied between 16 and 99 participants. In addition, 7 studies confirmed that the mobile app increased treatment adherence. In 5 of them, the before and after adherence measures suggested significant statistical improvements, when comparing self-reported adherence and missed dose with a percentage increase ranging between 7% and 40%. The users found mobile apps easy to use and useful for managing their medication. The patients were mostly satisfied with their use, with an average score of 8.1 out of 10. CONCLUSIONS The use of mobile apps helps increase treatment adherence, and they are an appropriate method for managing medication at home.


10.2196/16931 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e16931
Author(s):  
Madison Milne-Ives ◽  
Ching Lam ◽  
Michelle Helena Van Velthoven ◽  
Edward Meinert

Background The popularity and ubiquity of mobile apps have rapidly expanded in the past decade. With a growing focus on patient interaction with health management, mobile apps are increasingly used to monitor health and deliver behavioral interventions. The considerable variation in these mobile health apps, from their target patient group to their health behavior, and their behavioral change strategy, has resulted in a large but incohesive body of literature. Objective The purpose of this protocol is to provide an overview of the current landscape, theories behind, and effectiveness of mobile apps for health behavior change. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols will be used to structure this protocol. The focus of the systematic review is guided by a population, intervention, comparator, and outcome framework. A systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science will be conducted. Two authors will independently screen the titles and abstracts of identified references and select studies according to the eligibility criteria. Any discrepancies will then be discussed and resolved. One reviewer will extract data into a standardized form, which will be validated by a second reviewer. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool, and a descriptive analysis will summarize the effectiveness of all the apps. Results As of November 2019, the systematic review has been completed and is in peer review for publication. Conclusions This systematic review will summarize the current mobile app technologies and their effectiveness, usability, and coherence with behavior change theory. It will identify areas of improvement (where there is no evidence of efficacy) and help inform the development of more useful and engaging mobile health apps. Trial Registration PROSPERO CRD42019155604; https://tinyurl.com/sno4lcu International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/16931


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document