Creating and Sustaining User Engagement in Bidirectional Charging

Encouraging users to buy and continuously engage in bidirectional charging are crucial for the long-term success of the technology. However, user research in the context of smart charging has mainly focused on investigating overall perceptions and factors motivating consumers to buy the technology. In this article, we aim to take a more specific perspective on user acceptance of the technology by investigating both their preferences with regard to the design of the business model of bidirectional charging as well as the design of app feedback mechanisms for creating long-term user engagement. Our findings from study 1 reveal that financial aspects (i.e., preferred contractor, type of compensation, willingness to initially invest in the technology) constitute an important factor impacting user participation in bidirectional charging. In the long run, however, users’ non-financial motivation must also be addressed. Therefore, study 2 sheds light on how to foster users’ charging behavior by implementing gamified app feedback (i.e., financial, social, and efficient energy use). With this article, we contribute to user research which has been largely neglected in the highly technology-focused field of bidirectional charging.