We’ve all had days where we don’t feel like going out for dinner, so we whip out our cell phones and place an order on DoorDash or some other third-party food app, an online food delivery industry projected at $1.02 trillion last year alone.
Two Jacksonville University Davis College of Business and Technology marketing professors, Drs. Irina Toteva and Selen Savas-Hall, uncovered in their new research that consumers will feel a stronger connection to a company or a brand if they put effort into creating something with that company or brand through a third-party app.
The marketing duo recently had their research, “Perceived Effort in the Co-Creation of Electronic Services and Influence on Brand Loyalty: The Case of Food Ordering Apps” published in Services Marketing Quarterly.
“This is the first research to investigate the role of perceived effort in electronic services and the influence on brand loyalty,” said Toteva, a JU assistant professor of marketing. “Our research explains about the mechanism of brand loyalty, which is in part due to the labor-to-love effect, where effort translates into attachment to the item.”
Another interesting finding of this study is that the risk that is involved in using a technology may also be seen as effort. The Davis College professors showed that when consumers perceive higher risk using a third-party app, they show higher brand loyalty to the service provider.
Perceived risk refers to the uncertainty or potential negative outcomes associated with buying and using a product or service. In the case of food-ordering apps, consumers may view the use of technology as risky, fearing issues like privacy breaches or service failures.
“Our study finds that perceived risk can actually enhance brand loyalty,” shared Toteva. “When consumers take on this risk and it turns out positively (e.g., the food is delivered successfully), they feel more loyal to the brand as a result of overcoming that uncertainty. This risk mitigation further solidifies their attachment to the brand.”
Toteva got the idea for the research when she was scrolling through Instagram on her phone.
“I clicked on a promoted post that took me to the sales page of a clothing brand. I started adding some items to my shopping cart, and it occurred to me that this was an effort on my part—I was using my time and energy to evaluate the items and decide if I wanted to add any of them to my cart,” she recalled. “I became curious if this labor-to-love effect could be applicable to consumers who use apps for the ordering of products or services like food.”
The study explores how consumers who order food on an app (such as Uber Eats or Door Dash) perceive the level of effort they contribute to the order and how that perceived effort influences their attachment to the restaurant provider.
“We show that those consumers who perceive they have made an effort into ordering their food are more likely to feel they are continuing to build a relationship with the restaurant provider, and as a result they are more brand loyal to that service provider, compared to consumers who perceive less of an effort,” said Savas-Hall, a JU associate professor of marketing and international business.
While the use of technology (such as food-ordering apps) in the service ordering process can be perceived as automatic and effortless, some consumers perceive the process as effortful, and consequently, they are more aware that they are co-creating the service with the restaurant provider.
“When consumers feel like they are co-creating the service with the food service provider, this shows their willingness to invest resources into their relationship with the food service provider,” explained Toteva. “At the same time, by using the app and putting effort into the order, consumers feel improved self-efficacy (i.e., their confidence in their ability to perform tasks) as they are able to reach their goals through effort, compared to consumers who do not perceive effort in the ordering process.”
The findings of this research are important to consumers and to service industries, such as food, groceries and fashion, where companies co-create various offerings with their customers.
“This study is applicable to any company that provides technology tools to its customers to assist them in the service ordering process. For example, scheduling a service through an app such as a haircut appointment or a fitness class, or using a food-ordering app to order products or using a rideshare app for transportation are all efforts on the side of consumers,” said Savas-Hall.
This study shows that if consumers are made aware that they contribute to the service, then this perceived effort can turn into a ‘love’ and later into brand loyalty to the service provider. As a result, emphasizing the effort made by consumers may be well-received as a positive reinforcement and may create a special connection to the service provider. The co-researchers say this study also shows that the effort does not need to be entirely physical, and that mental effort also counts.
