Who Wants to Use an Augmented Reality Shopping Assistant Application?

Brick-and-mortar retailers need to stay competitive to the convenience provided by online channels. Technologies, such as personalized shopping assistants on smartphones can empower customers in-store towards a similar experience as in an online scenario. For instance, an augmented reality shopping assistance application with explainable recommendations (XARSAA) can mimic the behavior of recommender systems in personalizing offers to consumers in physical shops. However, before deploying such technologies, it is essential that retailers get to know the demographics of their customer base. Existing literature rarely addresses the influence of customers demographics towards XARSAA technologies. Therefore, we follow a design science approach, and develop an instantiation of a XARSAA artifact, which is artificially evaluated through a controlled online user experiment with 315 participants. Results illustrate multiple demographics which influence customers attitude towards an augmented reality shopping assistant application in brick-and-mortar stores. Additionally, we provide insights into the design of such technology to guide researchers in its implementation.