Investigating the impact of Internet of Things services from a smartphone app on grocery shopping

This study investigates how Internet of Things (IoT) features in a grocery store’s smartphone app affect shopping behavior. In a simulated scenario, 226 participants used the app to purchase items, such as fresh salmon. The study found that IoT services like “updated expiry date”, “Aggregated national customer experience index” and “personalized offer based on product in the basket. increased engagement with the app and encouraged more purchases. The “real-time price” IoT feature had a mixed effect on user interaction. Analysis showed that certain IoT features can be a dealbreaker in a competitive grocery market. The study is published in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, presented at Forskning.no and Kristiania.no.

What’s the “Thing” in Internet of Things (IoT) in Grocery Shopping? A Customer Approach

The Internet of Things (IoT) technology presents an opportunity for retail groceries to develop an infrastructure that makes physical things such as mobile phone, shopping basket, store shelves, digital display, and, even the product itself smart, allowing real-time interaction with customers both in the physical store and in the virtual store. This study explores how IoT can enhance value in retail grocery choice situations. To analyze IoT’s impact on consumer decisions, we conducted a conjoint experiment where participants purchased fresh salmon in a grocery store. The results demonstrated that compared to static information on price, expiry date, quality, and general offers, real-time information was the most influential factor. Moreover, quality ratings from other customers had the strongest effect, followed by personalized offers based on cart items, real-time expiry dates, and real-time pricing. The full study can be found in Procedia Computer Science.