Technology-Augmented Choice: How Digital Innovations Are Transforming Consumer Decision Processes

This paper provides an overview of recent research that explores how digital technologies such as mobile devices, wearables, voice technology, and recommendation agents are transforming consumer decision-making. We advance a conceptual model of technology-augmented choice that describes how the three Ms of technology—mediums (i.e., device types), modalities (i.e., interaction interfaces), and modifiers (i.e., intelligent agents)—are becoming increasingly integral elements of consumer decision processes. For instance, today’s new technologies often help curate consideration sets, shape how options are evaluated, and even guide choices themselves. As a result, market choices must now be viewed as a joint function of both consumer preferences and the characteristics of the technological environment in which those preferences are expressed. Examples of empirical research are reviewed that characterize the interdependencies between technology and decision-making, including how smartphones transform user-generated content, voice technology affects consumer search, haptic interfaces shape product preferences, and search engines alter confidence in choice.