A different perspective on consumer engagement: exploring the experience of using health apps to support healthier food purchasing

Healthy food purchasing behaviour may be facilitated through the use of health apps if used for the necessary time period. However, little is known on the factors that influence the user experience and facilitate or impede their continued use. The purpose of the present research is to explore the lived experience of using a health app to support healthier food purchasing behaviour. Findings identify the presence of behaviour change motivation and anticipated effort levels as drivers of app engagement. It appeared that behavioural, cognitive and emotional dimensions of engagement may influence one another, driven by contextual influences, to simultaneously contribute to the intrinsic experience of engagement. The research makes practical and theoretical contributions to the consumer engagement literature and highlights the need to focus on understanding and capturing the specific engagement context to better understand engagement.