The Use Values of Smartphone Apps -A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Smartphone applications are exploding in popularity, and people today assume there should be an app for everything. However, despite the vast amount of applications available, the average Swede only uses twelve during a regular month. For marketers, this makes it essential to know why some applications are used before others. Hence, to know what is the consumer perceived value in using smartphone applications. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the consumer perceived value in using smartphone applications by studying how and why people use them. This is done taking a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews and self-observations, with users familiar with the technology. By focusing on the actual use, we highlight the users’ views on what constitutes value, in contrast to the producers’ views on the concept. Our conclusions are that six use values exist: convenience, control, motivation & inspiration, monetary savings, entertainment, and knowledge. These are connected to mainly functional and symbolic value dimensions, but also epistemic and conditional value dimensions. This knowledge will aid marketers in giving the application users what they want, when they want it.