The negative effects of mobile retail app use: dealing with regrettable escapism

The proliferation of smartphones and the continued advancement in technology has seen retailers adopt apps as a form of service delivery at an exhilarant rate. Many studies have reported the positive outcomes associated with such app adoption which enhance the customer experience, which has subsequently seen consumers adopting branded mobile apps for an array of needs and gratifications. In fact, it is reported that over 80% of UK and US consumers' total time spent on their smartphones is on apps. Despite such time being spent for utilitarian and hedonic purposes, such excessive time on mobile devices and mobile apps has prompted commentary and research on the addictive nature of smartphones (Barnes et al, 2019). With such high daily usage of mobile apps, the "always-on" consumer has been created whereby smartphones have become an extension of a persons' self. This research explores the negative effects of consumers' use of retailers' mobile applications.