How Do Consumers Evaluate Mobile Apps? The Role of App Name Suffix, App Information Quality, and Consumer Characteristics

Abstract

The great penetration of mobile devices in the consumer market has allowed consumers to perform specific tasks by installing and using mobile apps. Despite the great potential of mobile apps, no published work has paid attention to factors affecting consumers’ app evaluation. This study identified app name suffix and app information quality as two potential antecedents to consumers’ value perceptions of mobile apps. The purpose of this study is to examine how four selected app name suffixes (vs. no suffix) and high versus low app information quality would influence consumers’ value perception and ultimately lead to download and word-of-mouth intentions in four selected app categories. In addition, this study explored the potential moderating roles of four consumer characteristics for the effects of app name suffixes and/or app information quality on perceived app value. Data were collected using an online experiment with a national sample of 1,268 mobile users aged from 19 to 34 years. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of 40 experimental conditions manipulated using experimental stimuli created and verified in three pretests and performed an online app evaluation task. The results from multivariate analysis of variance revealed that respondents perceived significant higher values for mobile apps in the high (vs. low) information quality condition. Perceived app value was found to be a strong predictor of both download intention and word-of-mouth intention. Further, the results reveal support for differential effects of app information quality among consumers with varying need for cognition and app savviness. On the contrary, no significant main or interaction effects were found for app name suffixes. Implications to these findings and suggestions for future research are also discussed.