Mobile Consumer Research Articles

Energy Optimization for Federated Learning on Consumer Mobile Devices With Asynchronous SGD and Application Co-Execution

Energy Optimization for Federated Learning on Consumer Mobile Devices With Asynchronous SGD and Application Co-Execution

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy in an Effort to Maintain Customer Loyalty in Telkomsel Palu Branch

Building and maintaining good relationships with customers is one way to maintain the survival of the company. Customer Relationship Management is a disciplined approach to developing and maintaining profitable customer relationships. One thing that can be done to maintain customer loyalty and increase profits is to improve the quality of service through the concept of CRM strategy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the CRM strategy carried out by Telkomsel Branch Palu in an effort to maintain customer loyalty. This study is qualitative in nature using data collection techniques by conducting observations and in-depth interviews with four informants who have been selected through purposive sampling techniques, namely SPV Mobile Consumer, CX Commander, priority customers and regular customers of Telkomsel Branch Palu. The results of the study obtained are that Telkomsel Branch Palu has implemented a CRM strategy through the Telkomsel Prestige Loyalty program. Telkomsel Prestige is a loyalty program for Telkomsel and Indihome priority customers. In running the loyalty program, Telkomsel Branch Palu carries out a form of Marketing Communication, especially in the Public Relations aspect as a form of communication that focuses on building and maintaining good relationships and the company's image. In addition, Telkomsel Branch Palu also carries out several stages in the CRM strategy, namely 1) Customer Identification by collecting customer data and can be accessed on the Telkomsel database portal. 2) Differentiate Customer, Telkomsel groups its customers into two categories, namely regular customers and priority customers and priority customers have membership levels ranging from Gold-Diamond. The goal is to focus more on interactions with customers who are considered to provide many benefits. 3) Interact with Customers by actively interacting with customers such as providing information media or special reports, making routine visits for Birthdays, Exchange Points, Hard Complain, special visits and creating loyalty activities for priority customers. 4) Customize some Aspects, namely by making adjustments to priority customers and regular customers such as making special visits on big days, giving greetings, participating in enlivening or welcoming special days by making decorations in the service room

Frames of consumer mobilization and modern slavery

Using frames theory, this research offers insights into the contradictions of how anti-slavery Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) deploy the frames of responsible buyer and responsible citizen to mobilize consumers against slavery. The study examines the underlying assumptions and contradictions of the frames by drawing on framing theory and Judith Butler’s approach to “framing the frames”. Such an approach helps understand how NGOs obfuscate the responsibility of corporations in contributing to modern slavery. This research contributes to extant interpretation of consumer activism by pointing to how consumer mobilization can be more usefully explained as a contested terrain that is shaped by activist groups whose communication is characterized by contradictions and conflicts. It also broadens the scope of frame theory by foregrounding the ethics of communication frames.

Influence of selected demographic variables on SMME survival

The economic vibrancy of most small communities is generally driven by Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) of different kind. Although the existence of these SMMEs tend to depend mainly on the disposition of the entrepreneur, the role of demographic variables tend to be very significant when it comes to their profitability and long-term survival. A myriad of research studies have highlighted the role of demographic characteristics. The paper aims to establish the influence of demographic variables on SMME sustainability and success. We employed a positivist research approach, which is descriptive in nature. A survey was used to collect data from 117 randomly sampled owners/managers respondents from a myriad of SMMEs in the Matjhabeng municipality in Welkom. Yielding a response rate of 69%. A regression analysis and interpretation was conducted to determine the influence of variables to each other. The regression data analysis revealed a mixed-bag of results with (i) education level, (ii) household income and (iii) consumer mobility reporting a significant relationship with SMME sustainability. Conversely, (iv) age level and (v) past work experience showed no significant relationship with SMME sustainability. To ensure sustained SMME growth and success, owner/managers must embrace and entrench a culture of investing not only in their self-development, but that of their team members/workforce as well. The study provides empirical evidence of the positive relationship between demographic variables and SMME’s sustained success and survival. Confirming that education and experience in particular are critical predictors of SMME success if investment on the most important asset, people, is given a high priority.

Identifying older adults at risk for dementia based on smartphone data obtained during a wayfinding task in the real world.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), as the most common form of dementia and leading cause for disability and death in old age, represents a major burden to healthcare systems worldwide. For the development of disease-modifying interventions and treatments, the detection of cognitive changes at the earliest disease stages is crucial. Recent advancements in mobile consumer technologies provide new opportunities to collect multi-dimensional data in real-life settings to identify and monitor at-risk individuals. Based on evidence showing that deficits in spatial navigation are a common hallmark of dementia, we assessed whether a memory clinic sample of patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) who still scored normally on neuropsychological assessments show differences in smartphone-assisted wayfinding behavior compared with cognitively healthy older and younger adults. Guided by a mobile application, participants had to find locations along a short route on the medical campus of the Magdeburg university. We show that performance measures that were extracted from GPS and user input data distinguish between the groups. In particular, the number of orientation stops was predictive of the SCD status in older participants. Our data suggest that subtle cognitive changes in patients with SCD, whose risk to develop dementia in the future is elevated, can be inferred from smartphone data, collected during a brief wayfinding task in the real world.

Home and psychological well‐being in global consumer mobility

AbstractHome is typically understood as a singular place that provides a sense of groundedness, belonging, and well‐being. Yet, this singular notion of home is challenged in global mobility, where consumers live and travel across borders and relocate internationally frequently. We expect globally mobile consumers to experience multiple and multilayered notions of home with significant psychological consequences for their sense of well‐being, ownership, and identity. In a qualitative study of 40 globally mobile consumers, we examine what it means to have multiple homes and how consumers cope with it. We identified four types of home that coexist in global mobility: emotional home, home away from home, base of operation, and home on the road. These types are characterized by different degrees of permanence and serve different psychological benefits that are at times in opposition or complementary (respectively, belonging and ontological security, functioning and psychological ownership, productivity, and flexibility). We also explored how this home portfolio provokes emotional, social, and cognitive consequences with which globally mobile consumers cope through strategic use of marketplace resources.

A Deep Learning-Based Hybrid CNN-LSTM Model for Location-Aware Web Service Recommendation

Advertising is the most crucial part of all social networking sites. The phenomenal rise of social media has resulted in a general increase in the availability of customer tastes and preferences, which is a positive development. This information may be used to improve the service that is offered to users as well as target advertisements for customers who already utilize the service. It is essential while delivering relevant advertisements to consumers, to take into account the geographic location of the consumers. Customers will be ecstatic if the offerings displayed to them are merely available in their immediate vicinity. As the user’s requirements will vary from place to place, location-based services are necessary for gathering this essential data. To get users to stop thinking about where they are and instead focus on an ad, location-based advertising (LBA) uses their mobile device’s GPS to pinpoint nearby businesses and provide useful information. Due to the increased two-way communication between the marketer and the user, mobile consumers’ privacy concerns and personalization issues are becoming more of a barrier. In this research, we developed a collaborative filtering-based hybrid CNN-LSTM model for recommending geographically relevant online services using deep neural networks. The proposed hybrid model is made using two neural networks, i.e., CNN and LSTM. Geographical information systems (GIS) are used to acquire initial location data to collect precise locational details. The proposed LBA for GIS is built in a Python simulation environment for evaluation. Hybrid CNN-LSTM recommendation performance beats existing location-aware service recommender systems in large simulations based on the WS dream dataset.

Foodscapes for salmon and other mobile consumers in river networks

Abstract Mobile consumers track fluctuating resources across heterogeneous landscapes to grow and survive. In river networks, the abundance and accessibility of food and the energetic consequences of foraging vary among habitats and through time, providing a shifting mosaic of growth opportunities for mobile consumers. However, a framework integrating the spatiotemporal dynamics of growth potential within riverscapes has been lacking. We present the concept of foodscapes to depict the dynamic changes in food abundance, food accessibility, and consumer physiology that contribute to spatial and temporal variation of fish growth in rivers. Drawing on case studies of salmonid fishes from Alaska to California, we illustrate how foodscapes can provide a plethora of foraging, growth, and life history opportunities that potentially contribute to population resilience. We identify knowledge gaps in understanding foodscapes and approaches for stewardship that focus on restoring diverse foraging and growth opportunities for fish and other mobile consumers in river networks.

Flowers and Bees: Spatial Network Effects in the Adoption of a Sharing-Economy Platform

This article empirically analyzes the spatiotemporal diffusion of a car-sharing platform that connects consumers with individual car owners. The authors develop a model of adoption by both consumers and providers that accommodates network effects across locations, as consumers travel to pick up cars, and information asymmetry, as only the providers’ locations are shown on a map. They apply it to data at the earliest stage of the platform and find that proximity and consumer mobility play a significant role in the spatial network effects of existing providers on consumers across locations. Consequently, the impact of additional supply at a destination on consumer adoptions at an origin varies by origin–destination pair and is asymmetric, as certain destinations draw more visitors than others and given differences in local characteristics. In contrast, existing consumers have a limited impact on provider adoptions. Through seeding experiments, the authors investigate how the geographic distribution of initial participants impacts the platform diffusion and find that targeting the supply side in big cities leads to the highest platform growth. They also use their parameter estimates to measure the long-term impact of a local promotional campaign and show that it is mostly local despite spatial network effects.

Self-Assembled Molecular Layers as Interfacial Engineering Nanomaterials in Rechargeable Battery Applications.

Rechargeable batteries have transformed human lives and modern industry, ushering in new technological advancements such as mobile consumer electronics and electric vehicles. However, to fulfill escalating demands, it is crucial to address several critical issues including energy density, production cost, cycle life and durability, temperature sensitivity, and safety concerns is imperative. Recent research has shed light on the intricate relationship between these challenges and the chemical processes occurring at the electrode-electrolyte interface. Consequently, a novel approach has emerged, utilizing self-assembled molecular layers (SAMLs) of meticulously designed molecules as nanomaterials for interface engineering. This research provides a comprehensive overview of recent studies underscoring the significant roles played by SAML in rechargeable battery applications. It discusses the mechanisms and advantageous features arising from the incorporation of SAML. Moreover, it delineates the remaining challenges in SAML-based rechargeable battery research and technology, while also outlining future perspectives.

Thermal habitat fragmentation in stratified lakes induces resource waves that brook charr track across seasons

The spatial configuration of thermal habitats constrains the thermoregulatory performance of ectotherms. Thermal landscapes also vary through time, which is particularly relevant in seasonal environments such as temperate lakes. Indeed, elevated temperatures in the epilimnion of dimictic lakes during summer could substantially reduce the use of this habitat by cold‐stenothermic fish during the stratified period. The main objective of this study was to evaluate whether thermal habitat fragmentation in stratified lakes modulates accessibility to resources that brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis, which is a mobile consumer, can track across seasons. More specifically, we hypothesize that reduced access to the littoral habitat during summer enhances foraging opportunities in this habitat during winter. We used an automatic acoustic telemetry system offering full coverage of the lake to continuously record brook charr locations across seasons, and we estimated zoobenthos abundances in the littoral habitat using image processing and semi‐automatic classification. While brook charr concentrate in the metalimnion of the pelagic habitat in summer, most individuals in winter shift to a shallow bay that is unexploited in summer due to thermal constraints. In this habitat, zoobenthos abundance is more than twice as high at the end of the summer compared to littoral habitats close to the thermal refuge in the pelagic habitat. Surprisingly, brook charr showed strong within‐lake site fidelity between two consecutive summers, which suggests that spatial memory could be a key driver of seasonal habitat use in this lacustrine population. Overall, our results suggest that thermal barriers create fragmentation between littoral and pelagic habitats that in turn produces resource opportunities that brook charr can track across seasons.

Employing Gamified Crowdsourced Close-Range Sensing in the Pursuit of a Digital Twin of the Earth

Advances in mobile consumer technology, especially in smartphones, have given rise to numerous new crowdsourcing opportunities. With the miniaturization of sensors and the growing number of smartphone models containing a wide range of them, we are now capable of creating digital imitations of real-world objects using everyday mobile devices. In this study, we created four augmented reality (AR) applications utilizing LiDAR sensors that were designed for crowdsourcing the creation of such digital imitations, i.e., digital twins. A user study was undertaken where video recordings, audio recordings, point cloud, and mesh data were collected in forest settings. Each approach was evaluated in terms of the characteristics and quality of the crowdsourced data acquired, as well as the participants’ behavior and experience. Our findings demonstrate that through gamification approaches, we can influence not only the user experience but also the type and quality of the crowdsourced data. Our findings offer guidance on which gamification dynamics and interactions are best suited for several types of crowdsourcing tasks. We also show that the collection of meaningful data is not limited to specific interactions or experiences and suggest that there are multiple routes in gamification design for reaching the desired outcomes.

Trophic stability and change across a sea ice cover gradient on the western Antarctic Peninsula

The western Antarctic Peninsula (AP) is experiencing significant changes to sea ice cover, altering the macroalgal cover and potentially affecting the foundation of benthic food webs. We used fatty acid signatures as dietary and physiological trophic biomarkers to test the hypothesis that a gradient of 36-88% mean annual ice cover would affect the trophic ecology of fleshy macroalgae and diverse benthic invertebrate consumers along the western AP. We used SCUBA to collect organisms from benthic rocky nearshore habitats, 5-35 m depth, at 15 study sites during April-May of 2019. There were no consistent ecosystem-scale differences in the nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids or other univariate fatty acid summary categories in either the seaweeds or invertebrates across the ice gradient, but we did find site-level differences in the multivariate fatty acid signatures of all seaweeds and invertebrates. Ice cover was a significant driver of the fatty acid signatures of 5 invertebrates, including 3 sessile (an anemone, a sponge, and a tunicate) and 2 mobile consumers (a sea star and a sea urchin). The multivariate fatty acid signatures of 2 other sea stars and a limpet were not affected by the ice gradient. These results indicate that the trophic ecology and resource assimilation of sessile consumers that are more connected to the macroalgal-derived food web will be more sensitive than mobile consumers to impending changes to annual ice and macroalgal cover along the western AP.

Does Experience Matter? Unraveling the Drivers of Expert and Non-Expert Mobile Consumers

The surge in mobile shopping faces a challenge as not all potential consumers are comfortable with this mode. Retailers need a deeper understanding of factors influencing user experience to enhance marketing strategies. Despite extensive research, a gap remains in comprehending this aspect. Using a statistical PLS-SEM-ANN approach, this research aims to explore the psychological dimensions of expert and non-expert mobile shoppers for establishing better targeted marketing strategies in m-commerce settings. Analyzing experience levels in mobile commerce (m-commerce), key drivers like enjoyment, usefulness, subjective norms, and trust were scrutinized as interaction settings for consumers using mobile technologies. The findings reveal that, for less experienced m-shoppers, trust is the most significant driver of attitude and satisfaction, while, for experienced users, trust and usefulness are the primary antecedents. This research provides novel insights, aiding mobile marketers in refining targeting strategies based on consumer experience levels, emphasizing the importance of usefulness and trustworthiness for a seamless m-shopping experience.

Impacts of Behavioral, Organizational, and Spatial Factors on the Carbon Footprint of Traditional Retail and E-commerce in the Paris Region.

Carbon footprint assessment of retail is necessary to optimize procurement strategies and adopt sustainable shopping habits. However, estimating carbon footprints is a complex task, given the diversity of existing distribution channels. Average values for carbon emissions of "conventional" retail (i.e., purchasing and receiving the product directly at the physical point of sale) found in most studies mask a heterogeneous reality: different retail strategies entail diverse shopping behavior for consumers, as well as varied procurement processes for outlets. In this paper, we propose a methodology to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of different distribution systems related to the consumption of goods in the Paris Region by coupling traditional transport modeling with a life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach. We model and compare six distribution systems, including five traditional retail formats (hypermarkets, supermarkets, small generalist retail, small food retail, and small nonfood retail) and E-commerce home deliveries. Our model includes warehouse activity, shop and home delivery, shop energy consumption, consumer mobility, and goods packaging. Overall, we conclude that E-commerce emits fewer GHG emissions than retail outlets per kilogram of product purchased. This result is in line with the existing literature on the topic. However, the carbon footprint varies greatly within the case study depending on the characteristics of the logistics procurement processes of outlets, the behavior of shoppers, and spatial characteristics.

Assessment on the User Interface of a Select Consumer Mobile Application and its Effect to Purchasing Behaviour of Generation Z

The research assessed the User Interface of a Select Consumer Mobile Application and its effect to the buying behaviour of Generation Z. The Visual Appeal, Navigational Content and Application’s Data Modelling are used as factors for the Mobile App User Interface while Frequency, Quantity and Timing of Purchase are used for Purchase Behaviour. The research is quantitative in nature and utilized 250 respondents selected by way of purposive and random sampling. Results revealed that, in terms of the User’s Interface, respondents expressed a Strong Agreement on the aspect of usability in terms of features and functionalities of the select Consumer Mobile Application. Similarly, a Strong Agreement is also expressed by the respondents towards influence of the user interface in their Purchasing Behaviour. Also, result revealed that the User’s Interface of the Select Mobile Application Strongly Influenced the Purchasing Behaviour of the respondents.

Seabird nutrient subsidies enrich mangrove ecosystems and are exported to nearby coastal habitats

Eutrophication by human-derived nutrient enrichment is a major threat to mangroves, impacting productivity, ecological functions, resilience, and ecosystem services. Natural mangrove nutrient enrichment processes, however, remain largely uninvestigated. Mobile consumers such as seabirds are important vectors of cross-ecosystem nutrient subsidies to islands but how they influence mangrove ecosystems is poorly known. We assessed the contribution, uptake, cycling, and transfer of nutrients from seabird colonies in remote mangrove systems free of human stressors. We found that nutrients from seabird guano enrich mangrove plants, reduce nutrient limitations, enhance mangrove invertebrate food webs, and are exported to nearby coastal habitats through tidal flow. We show that seabird nutrient subsidies in mangroves can be substantial, improving the nutrient status and health of mangroves and adjacent coastal habitats. Conserving mobile consumers, such as seabirds, is therefore vital to preserve and enhance their role in mangrove productivity, resilience, and provision of diverse functions and services.

Retracted: The Effect of Mobile Marketing Design on Consumer Mobile Shopping

Retracted: The Effect of Mobile Marketing Design on Consumer Mobile Shopping

Measuring quality-adjusted price changes on the mobile market: a case study from Hungary

PurposeThis study aims to estimate the quality-adjusted changes in residential mobile consumer prices by controlling for the changes in the relevant service characteristics and quality, in a case study on Hungary between 2015 and 2021; compare the results with changes measured by the traditionally calculated official telecommunications price index of the Statistical Office; and discuss separating the hedonic price changes from the effect of a specific government intervention that occurred in Hungary, namely, the significant reduction in the value added tax rate (VAT) levied on internet services.Design/methodology/approachSince the price of commercial mobile offers does not directly reflect the continuous improvements in service characteristics and functionalities over time, the price changes need to be adjusted for changes in quality. The authors use hedonic regression analysis to address this issue.FindingsThe results show significant hedonic price changes over the observed seven-year period of over 30%, which turns out to be primarily driven by the significant developments in the comprising service characteristics and not the VAT policy change.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature on hedonic price analyses on complex telecommunications service plans and enhances this methodology by using weights and analysing the content-related features of the mobile packages.

Assessing the Impact of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on Consumer Mobility Patterns and COVID-19 Transmission in the US.

The initial outbreak of COVID-19 during late December 2019 and the subsequent global pandemic markedly changed consumer mobility patterns worldwide, largely in response to government-ordered non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). In this study, we investigate these changes as they relate to the initial spread of COVID-19 within two states-Massachusetts and Michigan. Specifically, we use linear and generalized linear mixed-effects models to quantify the relationship between four NPIs and individuals' point-of-sale (POS) credit card transactions, as well as the relationship between subsequent changes in POS transactions and county-level COVID-19 case growth rates. Our analysis reveals a significant negative association between NPIs and daily POS transactions, particularly a dose-response relationship, in which stringent workplace closures, stay-at-home requirements, and gathering restrictions were all associated with decreased POS transactions. We also uncover a significant positive association between 12-day lagged changes in POS transactions compared to pre-pandemic baselines and county-level COVID-19 case growth rates. Overall, our study supports previous findings that early NPIs reduced human mobility and COVID-19 transmission in the US, providing policymakers with quantitative evidence concerning the effectiveness of NPIs.