Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

What are App Store Reviews on Mobile Apps in Retail About? Insights from the German Market

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Artificial Intelligence and Online Engineering (REV 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 524))

Abstract

App reviews drive of app downloads and are highly relevant to app developers because they contain feedback from app users about a mobile app. Research shows that many app reviews are not only related to functional aspects but often rather generic. Findings regarding mobile apps in retail do not exist yet. This exploratory case study examines the content of 300 reviews of 12 apps from stationary retailers in Germany. The results show that a majority of the reviews refer to the app functionalities. Negative reviews are mainly related to functional aspects while positive reviews are often not specified. A surprisingly large proportion of reviews do not refer to the app at all, but to the retailer itself or its stores. App reviews are therefore not only relevant for app developers but may also provide valuable insights for other departments in retail organizations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Deckert R, Wohllebe A (2021) Digitalisierung und Einzelhandel: Taktiken und Technologien. Praxisbeispiele und Herausforderungen. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. van Heerde HJ, Dinner IM, Neslin SA (2019) Engaging the unengaged customer: the value of a retailer mobile app. Int J Res Mark 36:420–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2019.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Verma DS, Verma D (2013) Managing customer relationships through mobile CRM in organized retail outlets. Int J Eng Trends Technol - IJETT. 4:1697–1701

    Google Scholar 

  4. Dacko SG (2017) Enabling smart retail settings via mobile augmented reality shopping apps. Technol Forecast Soc Change 124:243–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.09.032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Kang J-YM (2017) Augmented reality mobile apps in fashion retail: expectancy-value judgments. In: international textile and apparel association annual conference proceedings, vol 74

    Google Scholar 

  6. Wohllebe A, Dirrler P, Podruzsik S (2020) Mobile apps in retail: determinants of consumer acceptance – a systematic review. Int J Interact Mob Technol 14:153–164. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v14i20.18273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Fu, B., Lin, J., Li, L., Faloutsos, C., Hong, J., Sadeh, N.: Why people hate your app: making sense of user feedback in a mobile app store. In: Proceedings of the 19th ACM SIGKDD international conference on Knowledge discovery and data mining, Chicago, Illinois, USA, pp 1276–1284. ACM (2013). https://doi.org/10.1145/2487575.2488202

  8. Lee G, Raghu TS (2014) Determinants of mobile apps’ success: evidence from the app store market. J Manag Inf Syst 31:133–170. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222310206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Sadiq S, Umer M, Ullah S, Mirjalili S, Rupapara V, Nappi M (2021) Discrepancy detection between actual user reviews and numeric ratings of Google App store using deep learning. Expert Syst Appl 181:115111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2021.115111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wohllebe A, Hillmers M (2021) towards a scientific definition of app marketing – a practice-oriented approach using scientific and grey literature. IJARBM 2:13–25. https://doi.org/10.51137/ijarbm.2021.2.1.2

  11. Karagkiozidou M, Ziakis C, Vlachopoulou M, Kyrkoudis T (2019) App store optimization factors for effective mobile app ranking. In: Kavoura A, Kefallonitis E, Giovanis A (eds) Strategic Innovative Marketing and Tourism. SPBE. Springer, Cham, pp 479–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12453-3_54

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Malgaonkar S (2020) Prioritisation of requests, bugs and enhancements pertaining to apps for remedial actions - towards solving the problem of which app concerns to address initially for app developers. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351010227_Prioritisation_of_requests_bugs_and_enhancements_pertaining_to_apps_for_remedial_actions_Towards_solving_the_problem_of_which_app_concerns_to_address_initially_for_app_developers

  13. Genc-Nayebi N, Abran A (2017) A systematic literature review: opinion mining studies from mobile app store user reviews. J Syst Softw 125:207–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2016.11.027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Briz-Ponce L, García-Peñalvo FJ (2015) An empirical assessment of a technology acceptance model for apps in medical education. J Med Syst 39(11):1–5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-015-0352-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kim E, Lin J-S, Sung Y (2013) To app or not to app: engaging consumers via branded mobile apps. J Interact Advert 13:53–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2013.782780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Papadakis S, Kalogiannakis M, Zaranis N (2018) Educational apps from the Android Google play for Greek preschoolers: a systematic review. Comput Educ 116:139–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.09.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Peng K-F, Chen Y, Wen K-W (2014) Brand relationship, consumption values and branded app adoption. Ind Manag Data Syst 114:1131–1143. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-05-2014-0132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Saare MA, Hussain A, Yue WS (2019) Conceptualizing mobile health application use intention and adoption among Iraqian older adults: from the perspective of expanded technology acceptance model. Int J Interact Mobile Technol (iJIM). 13:28–41. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v13i10.11285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Wohllebe A, Ross F, Podruzsik S (2020) Influence of the net promoter score of retailers on the willingness of consumers to install their mobile app. Int J Interact Mob Technol 14. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v14i19.17027

  20. Hoon L, Vasa R, Schneider J-G, Mouzakis K (2012) A preliminary analysis of vocabulary in mobile app user reviews. In: Proceedings of the 24th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference on - OzCHI ’12. pp. 245–248. ACM Press, Melbourne, Australia. https://doi.org/10.1145/2414536.2414578

  21. Hoon L, Vasa R, Martino GY, Schneider J-G, Mouzakis K (2013) Awesome!: conveying satisfaction on the app store. In: Proceedings of the 25th Australian computer-human interaction conference on augmentation, application, innovation, collaboration - OzCHI 2013 , Adelaide, Australia. pp 229–232. ACM Press. https://doi.org/10.1145/2541016.2541067

  22. Vasa R, Hoon L, Mouzakis K, Noguchi A (2012) A preliminary analysis of mobile app user reviews. In: Proceedings of the 24th Australian computer-human interaction conference on - OzCHI 2012, Melbourne, Australia, pp 241–244. ACM Press. https://doi.org/10.1145/2414536.2414577

  23. Oh J, Kim D, Lee U, Lee J-G, Song J (2013) Facilitating developer-user interactions with mobile app review digests. In: CHI 2013 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems on - CHI EA 2013, Paris, France, p 1809. ACM Press. https://doi.org/10.1145/2468356.2468681

  24. Khalid H, Shihab E, Nagappan M, Hassan AE (2015) What do mobile app users complain about? IEEE Softw 32:70–77. https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2014.50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Mojica Ruiz IJ, Nagappan M, Adams B, Berger T, Dienst S, Hassan AE (2016) Examining the rating system used in mobile-app stores. IEEE Softw 33:86–92. https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2015.56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Grano G, Di Sorbo A, Mercaldo F, Visaggio CA, Canfora G, Panichella S (2017) Android Apps and user feedback: a dataset for software evolution and quality improvement. In: Proceedings of ACM conference, Washington DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  27. Deshpande G, Rokne J (2018) User feedback from tweets vs app store reviews: an exploratory study of frequency, timing and content. In: 2018 5th international workshop on artificial intelligence for requirements engineering (AIRE), Banff, AB, pp 15–21. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/AIRE.2018.00008

  28. Nayebi M, Cho H, Ruhe G (2018) App store mining is not enough for app improvement. Empir Softw Eng 23(5):2764–2794. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-018-9601-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Jha N, Mahmoud A (2019) Mining non-functional requirements from app store reviews. Empir Softw Eng 24(6):3659–3695. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-019-09716-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Kalaichelavan K, Malik H, Husnu N, Sreenath S (2020) What do people complain about Drone Apps? A large-scale empirical study of Google Play Store reviews. Procedia Computer Science. 170:547–554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2020.03.124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Bogner K, Landrock U (2015) Antworttendenzen in standardisierten UmfragenAntworttendenzen in standardisierten Umfragen. https://doi.org/10.15465/GESIS-SG_016

  32. Likert R (1932) A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Arch Psychol 22:1–55

    Google Scholar 

  33. Spearman C (1904) “General Intelligence”, objectively determined and measured. Am J Psychol 15:201. https://doi.org/10.2307/1412107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Smigierski J Korrelation In STATA berechnen. http://www.beratung-statistik.de/statistik-beratung-infos/stata-tutorial/stata-nachhilfe-korrelation/. Accessed 29 June 2021

  35. Schnell R, Hill PB, Esser E (1999) Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung. R. Oldenbourg, München

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MATE Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kaposvár Campus, Kaposvár, Hungary

    Atilla Wohllebe & Thomas Stoyke

Authors
  1. Atilla Wohllebe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas Stoyke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Atilla Wohllebe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CTI Global, Frankfurt, Germany

    Michael E. Auer

  2. British University in Egypt, El Shorouk, Egypt

    Samir A. El-Seoud

  3. British University in Egypt, El Shorouk, Egypt

    Omar H. Karam

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Wohllebe, A., Stoyke, T. (2023). What are App Store Reviews on Mobile Apps in Retail About? Insights from the German Market. In: Auer, M.E., El-Seoud, S.A., Karam, O.H. (eds) Artificial Intelligence and Online Engineering. REV 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 524. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17091-1_47

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation