Acceptance of in-store apps: factors that influence the intention to adopt location-based retail apps – insights from Germany

PurposeDue to recent developments of indoor location-tracking technologies, brick-and-mortar retailers are now able to add location-based marketing capabilities to their existing retail apps, providing retailers with new opportunities to interact with customers inside of their stores. The aim of this study is to identify factors influencing the customers' adoption intention of location-based retail apps for stationary retailing.Design/methodology/approachBased on the technology acceptance model, a conceptual model was developed. A Web-based survey was conducted in Germany with a final sample of 501 cases. Structural equation modelling was performed to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirmed the positive relationship between attitude and the customers' intention to use location-based retail apps. Perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment promote a positive attitude toward location-based retail apps, while privacy concerns and fear of spam hinder the formation of a favorable attitude. Subjective norms have a positive effect on customers' usage intention.Practical implicationsThe results help retailers who want to establish location-based retail apps at the point of sale (e.g. in the context of omni-channel strategies).Originality/valueAs previous research about location-based apps has mainly used empirical data from either Chinese or American samples, less is known about the perception of European customers. Research indicates that existing findings might not be transferable to European countries due to differences in values, social norms or regulations. Also, the failure of Shopkick in Germany illustrates the need for more research. Based on this, using a German sample to answer the research question, this study aims to provide a European perspective on location-based retail apps, and thereby extend existing research.

Outdoor Localization Using BLE RSSI and Accessible Pedestrian Signals for the Visually Impaired at Intersections

One of the major challenges for blind and visually impaired (BVI) people is traveling safely to cross intersections on foot. Many countries are now generating audible signals at crossings for visually impaired people to help with this problem. However, these accessible pedestrian signals can result in confusion for visually impaired people as they do not know which signal must be interpreted for traveling multiple crosses in complex road architecture. To solve this problem, we propose an assistive system called CAS (Crossing Assistance System) which extends the principle of the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) signal for outdoor and indoor location tracking and overcomes the intrinsic limitation of outdoor noise to enable us to locate the user effectively. We installed the system on a real-world intersection and collected a set of data for demonstrating the feasibility of outdoor RSSI tracking in a series of two studies. In the first study, our goal was to show the feasibility of using outdoor RSSI on the localization of four zones. We used a k-nearest neighbors (kNN) method and showed it led to 99.8% accuracy. In the second study, we extended our work to a more complex setup with nine zones, evaluated both the kNN and an additional method, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) with various RSSI features for classification. We found that the SVM performed best using the RSSI average, standard deviation, median, interquartile range (IQR) of the RSSI over a 5 s window. The best method can localize people with 97.7% accuracy. We conclude this paper by discussing how our system can impact navigation for BVI users in outdoor and indoor setups and what are the implications of these findings on the design of both wearable and traffic assistive technology for blind pedestrian navigation.

Universal design – Bluetooth Low Energy-based navigation information systems for people with disabilities

The Universal Design aims to improve the functionality and accessibility of urbanized areas for all users, regardless of their physical, perceptual, or intellectual capability. This task is also a priority for the Polish government, however legislations do not provide clear solutions for supporting people with perceptual limitations. Contemporary technologies can support the spatial orientation of people with disabilities, allowing them to get around independently and safely. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, unlike to the global positioning system (GPS), allows accurate indoor location and navigation. The purpose of this article is to discuss and benchmark two BLE-based navigation and information systems: The GuideBeacon supported by the IBeaconMap software and Totupoint. The result is a summary of the key functionality and limitations of both solutions and an indication of the prospects for further development.

Learnings from User Digital Trail Post-Occupancy Evaluation before COVID-19 for Future Workplace Analysis and Design

Data are required for optimizing workplace design, assessing user experience, and ensuring wellbeing. This research focuses on the benefits of incorporating post-occupancy evaluation (POE) data analysis by studying the digital trail of employees generated by the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure of the office. The objective is to enable a safe return to offices through compliance with COVID-19 space-capacity regulations and in consideration of the health and wellbeing of employees. Workplaces, teams, and people have become more digitalized and therefore more mobile due to the globalization of knowledge and cutting-edge technological innovations, a process that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis. Now, hybrid work and fully remote working routines are increasing in a significant number of companies. Nevertheless, with the return to the office, understanding how to calibrate spatial capacity is now key for workplaces and companies. Traditional assessment methods are obsolete; new methods that respond to mobility, changing occupancy rates, and comfort are essential. This paper analyzes, through the case study of a pre-COVID-19 activity-based office, the advantages of using digital indoor-location techniques (such as Wi-Fi networks, which additionally have the advantage of being previously installed in the majority of these spaces). The paper demonstrates that the incorporation of digital POE of user trends enabled a more seamless, accurate, and scalable return to a new normal office work scenario and an improved post-COVID-19 design of workplaces.

WiFi FTM, UWB and Cellular-Based Radio Fusion for Indoor Positioning

High-precision indoor localisation is becoming a necessity with novel location-based services that are emerging around 5G. The deployment of high-precision indoor location technologies is usually costly due to the high density of reference points. In this work, we propose the opportunistic fusion of several different technologies, such as ultra-wide band (UWB) and Wi-Fi fine-time measurement (FTM), in order to improve the performance of location. We also propose the use of fusion with cellular networks, such as LTE, to complement these technologies where the number of reference points is under-determined, increasing the availability of the location service. Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is presented to weight the different reference points to eliminate outliers, and several searching methods are presented and evaluated for the localisation algorithm. An experimental setup is used to validate the presented system, using UWB and Wi-Fi FTM due to their incorporation in the latest flagship smartphones. It is shown that the use of multi-technology fusion in trilateration algorithm remarkably optimises the precise coverage area. In addition, it reduces the positioning error by over-determining the positioning problem. This technique reduces the costs of any network deployment oriented to location services, since a reduced number of reference points from each technology is required.