CONSUMER EVALUATIONS OF IN-STORE TECHNOLOGY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0200548
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2004
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2009
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907

Performing Department
CONSUMER SCIENCE & RETAILING

Non Technical Summary
Shoppers vary in their willingness to interact with innovative in-store technology. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the formation of consumer expectations for and intentions to use in-store technology.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
604	6010	2090	20%
604	6010	3070	50%
604	6010	3100	30%

Knowledge Area
604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices;

Subject Of Investigation
6010 - Individuals;

Field Of Science
2090 - Statistics, econometrics, and biometrics; 3070 - Psychology; 3100 - Management;

Keywords

new technology

consumer behavior

expectations

retailing

consumers

stores

performance evaluation

purchasing

innovations

marketing

individuals

psychology

experience

supermarkets

literature

reviews

classification

interviews

consumer surveys

demography

focus groups

social economics

questionnaires

adults

Goals / Objectives
1. Develop an organizational framework for classifying the different types of in-store technology encountered by consumers. 2. Identify factors that influence consumers' expectations regarding the use of innovative in-store technologies. 3. Examine the role of pre-experience and post-experience comparative standards or expectations in affecting consumers' evaluations of and intentions to use in-store technology.

Project Methods
The study will be conducted in three phases. Phase 1: Exploratory research and a review of the relevant academic and retail trade literature will be used to construct an organizational framework for classifying the different types of in-store technology encountered by shoppers across different retail store formats (e.g., department stores, supermarkets). Five in-depth interviews will be conducted with consumers who vary in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Data from these interviews will be used to develop a protocol for conducting three focus group interviews. Each focus group will consist of consumers who are similar in age but vary across other demographic characteristics. Phase 2: The qualitative research conducted in Phase 1 will aid in identifying the specific performance attributes used by consumers to evaluate using in-store technology (e.g., expected ease of use). Previous empirical research indicates that consumers are most likely to employ a compensatory strategy to form an evaluation of the expected performance of using an unfamiliar technology (Dabholkar 1996). The performance expectations associated with each attribute are summed to form an overall performance expectation for using the technology. The more positive a consumer's overall performance expectation, the more likely a consumer will be to use the technology. Data will be collected in the context of stores typically found in mall settings (i.e., department store or specialty apparel store). Approximately 2,000 adult shoppers, age 18 and older, will be intercepted by trained interviewers and asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Two recently opened (i.e., open less than two years) regional U.S. malls will be selected as data collection sites. Exploratory factor analysis followed by a confirmatory factor analysis will be conducted to assess the reliability and validity of the measures used in the study. Since multiple linear relationships are to be included in a single model, structural equation modeling will be employed to simultaneously test the proposed relationships. Phase 3: An experimental approach will be used to examine the role of pre- and post-experience expectations on consumer responses to in-store technology. Using a student sample, the subjects will be asked to complete a questionnaire a few days prior to exposure to a written scenario involving an innovative type of in-store technology (e.g., body scanning technology). A second questionnaire will be administered immediately following exposure to the written scenario. Data analysis will assess the extent to which pre- and post-exposure expectations influence subjects' evaluations of and intentions to use the described technology.

Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/09

Outputs
During 2006 Professor Warrington left Purdue University.

Impacts
X

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05

Outputs
Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, a working framework for categorizing in-store technologies has been developed. Retail technologies fall within three major classifications: supply chain management, customer management, and customer satisfaction. Supply chain management is the focus of this study as it directly impacts the customer's shopping experience. Within the remaining two categories, theory related to the adoption and diffusion of innovations provides the framework for differentiating emerging from existing retail technologies. The second phase of the study is now underway. During this phase, the specific performance attributes used by consumers to evaluate emerging retail technologies are to be identified and examined through a quantitative analysis of survey data collected from consumers shopping from food (grocery) and fiber (apparel) retailers.

Impacts
This research investigates how consumers initially develop expectations for using emerging and unfamiliar technology in the retail marketplace. The deployment of technology in the marketplace can lead to improved operating efficiencies which, in turn, enhance retailer profitability. Additionally, this research will help retailers better anticipate the needs of customers and improve overall customer satisfaction.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 10/01/03 to 09/29/04

Outputs
The project is just getting underway. Preliminary work related to the conceptual framework and literature review will begin shortly.

Impacts
A more informed understanding of how consumers form expectations for the use of new in-store technologies will assist retailers in developing technical or educational programs that successfully reduce the feelings of anxiety, discomfort, and incompetence that often accompany consumer interactions with new technologies. As a result, customers experience greater satisfaction not only with the store, but also with their own ability to cope with and master marketplace technologies.

Publications

• No publications reported this period