Usability studies

Dr. Kwon's team frequently employs laboratory or field experiments to evaluate the usability of diverse retail technologies with real-world users

Jeff, The Virtual Pharmacist

AI for healthcare decision support

Dr. Kwon's AIDA (AI decision assistant for older adults' Medicare Part D plan selection was presented at the Auburn University Research Symposium.

Usability studies

Dr. Kwon's team frequently employs laboratory or field experiments to evaluate the usability of diverse retail technologies with real-world users

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WIS KWON, PhD

HUMAN SCIENCES PROFESSOR OF RETAILING
Consumer & Design Sciences

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"The future of consumer AI is bright, and we’re excited to keep driving it forward!"
- Dr. Wis Kwon

ABOUT DR. KWON

Over the past two decades, the consumer industry has experienced a whirlwind of transformation thanks to technological innovations. Technology hasn’t just reshaped how consumers shop and make decisions; it’s revolutionized how industries engage with and understand consumers. But, the most exciting changes are still ahead, and Dr. Kwon's research is helping to shape that future.

Dr. Kwon's retail technology and innovation research initiative began in 2003 when she embarked upon a then-groundbreaking study on multichannel retailers' cross-channel brand image reciprocity as a PhD student in Consumer Sciences. This study became published in top-tier business journals such as Journal of Retailing and Journal of Business Research, as one of the most cited articles in the topical area. With keen interests in the intersection of three pillars of her research, including 1) technology/innovation, 2) consumer psychology, and 3) branding/marketing, Dr. Kwon's research has continued to stay ahead of the curve, particularly in the application of artificial intelligence (AI), since she launched conversational AI research programs in 2007 in collaboration with fellow consumer scientists and computer engineers. Her projects contributed to advancements of cognitive AI capabilities of intelligent conversational agents based on consumer and decision science theories and drew the attention of the retail industry, the healthcare industry, and various government sectors.

The conversational AIs developed by Dr. Kwon and her colleagues range from Gina (2010) and Paul (2013) assisting senior citizens' online shopping transactions, to Jeff the virtual pharmacist (2015), to MODA the in-store mobile decision aid (2019), and to AIDA the AI decision assistant for seniors' Medicare Part D insurance purchase (2024). Her projects have been supported by federal grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Commerce, and Department of Agriculture and published in numerous academic journals across diverse disciplines such as consumer science, marketing, computer science, and health science (see Dr. Kwon's publications).

Looking ahead, based on strong data science and consumer and decision psychology backgrounds, Dr. Kwon's research team will continue to push the boundary of AI applications to strengthen the consumer industries and advance the quality of life of consumers. Dr. Kwon's research team welcomes great thinkers and pioneers from private and public sectors as well as multidisciplinary scholars to partner with in their journey to the betterment of our future lives with AI.

Selected Projects

Where in consumer decision process should AI help?

Consumers feel in control and enjoy the assistance of conversational AI during a complex alternative evaluation stage.

Smart choice? AI-Based mobile decision bots for in-store decision-making

AI-based in-store decision bots can make high thinkers enjoy shopping more while making low thinkers carefully think about choices before buying.

How to build in-store AI assistants

Can a conversational AI agent help in-store shoppers' purchase decisions on the go? Yes, if it has the right capabilities.

SNS eWOM sentiment and brand value co-creation

Take charge of your brand's reputation by actively tracking and responding to eWOM on social media. Handle negative feedback with care to defuse issues and turn them around, while reinforcing positive feedback with encouragement.

Brands "talking" on events?

Brands are often imbued with human personalities in brand communications. Is it always effective? How should it be done in real-time event marketing to boost consumer engagement?

One size fits all? Task- vs. social-oriented AI

For consumers with low product knowledge, AI assistants should focus on the decision-relevant dialog, but experienced shoppers could use a joke or two from the AI shopping companion.

Areas of Expertise