Consumer Engagement in the Context of Mobile Applications’ Usage

Abstract

Extensive use and adaptation of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices determined growing popularity of mobile applications among consumers. The popularity of mobile applications is closely related to the changes of consumer needs and behaviour. Moreover, the usage of mobile applications has a potential for the development of consumer engagement state through the creation of the exceptional experience. Consumer engagement in the usage of mobile applications may have an impact on consumers’ loyalty and intentions to recommend and repetitively use mobile application. Mobile applications should enable consumer engagement resulting in beneficial consumers’ solutions for enterprises. Considering results of the prior researches in this area, it is known that the main factor determining decision not to use mobile application (to delete or reject it) is a poor usability. Poor usability of mobile applications can be a result of different reasons including an inadequate selection of the aspects of mobile application ignoring consumers’ usage goals. Therefore, this paper aims to identify key aspects of mobile applications that potentially have an impact on its usage and consumer engagement. The paper proposes a theoretical framework that integrates aspects of mobile application affecting applications’ usability and, therefore, consumer engagement, and consequences of it. The framework is based on the overview of conceptual and empirical studies of consumer engagement in a mobile environment, aspects of the mobile application and mobile applications’ user’s typology.