Consumer Valuation of AR-Enabled Indoor Navigation in Shopping Malls: A Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) indoor navigation can combine wayfinding, contextual information, gamification, and promotions in shopping malls, yet consumers’ valuation of these features remains unclear. This study examined preferences for navigation mode, information layering, an interactive character, reward type, reward acquisition mode, and monthly fee. A choice-based conjoint experiment with 295 South Korean adults aged 20–49 was analyzed using a conditional logit model to estimate utilities, relative importance, and marginal willingness to pay (MWTP). Within the tested ranges, price was most important (52.2%), followed by navigation mode (14.1%) and information layering (12.7%). Adding AR guidance to a 2D map yielded a monthly MWTP of KRW 540, while the profile combining route, facility, and discount information yielded KRW 488 relative to route-only information. Immediate discount coupons were preferred to reward points and prize-draw entries, and visit-based reward acquisition was preferred to socially contingent acquisition. The interactive character was not significant in the full sample, but its utility increased with context-specific gamification-feature affinity in both categorical and continuous interaction models. The findings position AR-enabled indoor navigation as a phygital commerce service and support a layered architecture in which guidance and contextual information form the functional core, while gamified features are offered selectively.

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