Insights into customer engagement in a mobile app context: review and research agenda

Abstract

In the context of mobile applications (apps), switching costs and efforts are low for customers, which hinders the ability of an app to sustain engagement with customers. This systematic literature review examines customer engagement (CE) and its predictors and responses in the context of apps, emphasizing the need for context-aware assessment. We performed this review by extracting relevant research articles from databases: Scopus, EBSCO, and Web of Science. We used keywords and Boolean operators for a literature search to identify the relevant work and filtered the chosen articles based on the authors’ keywords, journal type, and abstract analysis. This study examines CE exclusively in the context of mobile apps and utilizes a stimuli-organism-response (SOR) model to propose a conceptual framework. The review underscored the need to examine the specific context and informed methodologies used to measure user engagement in mobile apps, highlighting its multifaceted character. This study makes a valuable contribution by recognizing the transactional aspect of CE as an essential component of the context, thus bridging a conceptual gap. In addition, the conceptual framework incorporates novel predictors such as virtual try-on and recommendation agents, as well as responses that include negative engagement behaviors like cart abandonment.