Location
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
Event Website
https://hicss.hawaii.edu/
Start Date
7-1-2025 12:00 AM
End Date
10-1-2025 12:00 AM
Description
This paper explores a novel approach to address the problem of food waste in private households through a smartphone application. Employing a design science approach, an app prototype was developed as an instantiation with basic functionality. The prototype was evaluated by conducting a usability test and a consumer survey (N=520) to understand consumers’ needs and requirements to increase their willingness to use such applications. Our findings reveal that younger generations are more likely to use the app and are more open to sharing and trusting information about real best-before dates of food products than older generations. Furthermore, the app concept resonates more with men than women. Feedback from consumers highlights a significant interest in a feature that could determine the shelf life of unpacked goods and new features, e.g., a chatbot to analyze food freshness.
Recommended Citation
Senge, Julia; Mielinger, Ellen; Wendt, Marie Catherine; Weinrich, Ramona; and Krupitzer, Christian, "Understanding Consumers’ Attitudes towards a Smartphone Application to Reduce Food Waste" (2025). Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2025 (HICSS-58). 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/os/resilience/5
Understanding Consumers’ Attitudes towards a Smartphone Application to Reduce Food Waste
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
This paper explores a novel approach to address the problem of food waste in private households through a smartphone application. Employing a design science approach, an app prototype was developed as an instantiation with basic functionality. The prototype was evaluated by conducting a usability test and a consumer survey (N=520) to understand consumers’ needs and requirements to increase their willingness to use such applications. Our findings reveal that younger generations are more likely to use the app and are more open to sharing and trusting information about real best-before dates of food products than older generations. Furthermore, the app concept resonates more with men than women. Feedback from consumers highlights a significant interest in a feature that could determine the shelf life of unpacked goods and new features, e.g., a chatbot to analyze food freshness.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/os/resilience/5