Augmented Reality Apps for Cultural Heritage: Driving User Retention Through Experiential Satisfaction
Integrating user expectations with technology acceptance factors significantly boosts the likelihood of continued use for mobile augmented reality applications in cultural heritage tourism.
Tourism and Hospitality · 2025
Key Findings
- 01The integrated model (ECM + UTAUT2) demonstrated superior predictive power for continuance intention compared to ECM or UTAUT2 alone.
- 02Experiential satisfaction was a significant mediator in the relationship between technology acceptance factors and continuance intention.
- 03Factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and hedonic motivation from UTAUT2, along with confirmation and satisfaction from ECM, positively influenced continued usage.
Application
Design takeaway
Design AR experiences that not only deliver information but also create memorable and satisfying interactions to ensure long-term user adoption and support heritage conservation efforts.
How to apply
When designing an AR application for a heritage site, map out user journeys, identify key interaction points, and ensure that the AR experience consistently meets and ideally exceeds user expectations for engagement, learning, and enjoyment.
Project actions
- 01When designing an AR feature, consider how it will confirm or exceed a user's initial expectations for the experience.
- 02Think about how elements like ease of use, enjoyment, and social influence might impact a user's decision to continue using your AR design.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Integration of two established theoretical models (ECM and UTAUT2) for a more comprehensive analysis.
- +Empirical testing with a substantial sample size using advanced statistical methods (SEM).
Limitations
Your AR prototype might not fully capture the complexity of a real-world heritage site, and user testing might be limited by time or access to participants.
Reliability & validity
The study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0, which is a robust method for assessing model fit, reliability (e.g., Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability), and validity (e.g., convergent and discriminant validity) of the constructs.
Think critically
How might the 'deterioration of historic architecture and cultural artifacts' mentioned in the abstract influence user expectations and satisfaction with AR applications designed for their preservation?
Design Principles
"Prioritize user satisfaction and expectation management in the design of AR applications for cultural heritage to foster sustained engagement."
For designers and developers of AR applications, particularly in heritage tourism, understanding the drivers of user retention is paramount. This research highlights that simply providing AR functionality is insufficient; the user's experience and satisfaction are key to sustained engagement, which in turn supports the preservation goals of heritage sites.
What This Means for Your Design
To make people keep using an augmented reality app for visiting historical places, you need to make sure the app is easy to use, useful, and gives them a really good experience that makes them happy.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use the integrated model (ECM + UTAUT2) as a framework to justify design choices aimed at increasing user retention for your AR product.
- 2.Reference the findings on experiential satisfaction to explain why certain interactive elements or content delivery methods were chosen.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
(2025). Travelers’ Continuance Intention to Use Mobile Augmented Reality App in UNESCO World Heritage Sites: An Integrated Model of ECM and UTAUT. Tourism and Hospitality. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6040192 Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/50b00a22-82fd-4ac5-9cd2-6c40331e248d/augmented-reality-apps-for-cultural-heritage-driving-user-retention-through-experiential-satisfaction
Paragraph starter
This research indicates that for AR applications in heritage tourism, a combined approach of the Expectation Confirmation Model and UTAUT2 provides a robust understanding of user continuance intention. Specifically, the study found that user satisfaction with the AR experience is a critical mediator, suggesting that designs must focus on delivering engaging and positive interactions that meet or exceed initial user expectations to ensure long-term adoption and use.
Source
Tourism and Hospitality
Travelers’ Continuance Intention to Use Mobile Augmented Reality App in UNESCO World Heritage Sites: An Integrated Model of ECM and UTAUT
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions about this research
- What does the research say about augmented reality apps for cultural heritage: driving user retention through experiential satisfaction?
- Design AR experiences that not only deliver information but also create memorable and satisfying interactions to ensure long-term user adoption and support heritage conservation efforts. Evidence: Tourism and Hospitality (2025).
- Why does "Augmented Reality Apps for Cultural Heritage: Driving User Retention Through Experiential Satisfaction" matter for design?
- For designers and developers of AR applications, particularly in heritage tourism, understanding the drivers of user retention is paramount. This research highlights that simply providing AR functionality is insufficient; the user's experience and satisfaction are key to sustained engagement, which in turn supports the preservation goals of heritage sites.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design AR experiences that not only deliver information but also create memorable and satisfying interactions to ensure long-term user adoption and support heritage conservation efforts.
- What were the main findings?
- The integrated model (ECM + UTAUT2) demonstrated superior predictive power for continuance intention compared to ECM or UTAUT2 alone.. Experiential satisfaction was a significant mediator in the relationship between technology acceptance factors and continuance intention.. Factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and hedonic motivation from UTAUT2, along with confirmation and satisfaction from ECM, positively influenced continued usage.
- What research method was used?
- Quantitative research using structural equation modeling (SEM). with 450 participants.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Tourism and Hospitality.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing an AR application for a heritage site, map out user journeys, identify key interaction points, and ensure that the AR experience consistently meets and ideally exceeds user expectations for engagement, learning, and enjoyment.
- What are the limitations?
- The study focused on domestic tourists in specific Malaysian heritage sites, which may limit generalizability to international tourists or different cultural contexts. The reliance on self-reported data is also a potential limitation.
- Is there evidence that heritage affects design outcomes?
- Combining user expectations with technology acceptance theories provides a robust framework for predicting whether people will keep using AR apps for cultural heritage, with user satisfaction being a critical link. For designers and developers of AR applications, particularly in heritage tourism, understanding the driv Source: Tourism and Hospitality (2025).
- Where does this user research apply?
- Cultural heritage tourism, specifically UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malaysia (George Town and Melaka), focusing on the use of mobile augmented reality applications. It sits within innovation & markets research on designdex.org.
Related research topics
heritage design research · evidence on heritage · does heritage improve design outcomes · user studies for designers · heritage and user findings · innovation & markets research evidence