“Consumers assert their autonomy in the face of algorithmic advice that no longer satisfies them”

VShow to choose a restaurant? a vacation rental? a washing machine ? a packet of biscuits? The majority of consumers today use online comparators to guide them in their decisions, entrusting their fate to algorithms for all these micro-choices of daily life. The suggestions they receive take into account the availability of products and services, their prices, some of their characteristics, and above all numerous opinions from former customers.

This system, which today seems self-evident, is nevertheless of recent construction and should evolve fairly quickly. Consumer interactions with online algorithmic “advisors” are indeed quite poor. Even if some tools take past purchases into account, the recommendations take little or no consideration of the personal values ​​of individuals.

The recommendations also do not particularly encourage them to act responsibly. They exclude all human relationships, all warmth, all emotion. But it is above all the proliferation of false opinions posted online by specialized pharmacies which calls into question the credibility of this system. A popular app like Yuka now suggests new trails.

Large community of consumers

The Yuka app helps consumers make decisions in the food and cosmetics aisles, but it does so by going beyond a basic price comparison: it highlights the healthiest foods based on research scientific and promotes values ​​sometimes ahead of legislation (“Food choice and the epistemic value of the consumption of recommender systems: the case of Yuka’s perceived value in France”Rajibul Hasan, Sara Kemari, Ronan de Kervenoael and Alexandre Schwob, Behavior & Information Technologynot^bone 1-20, 2023).

This application is particularly interesting, because it relies on a large community of consumers who get involved, exchange on forums, provide data, and who have succeeded, indirectly, in influencing the food industry and on the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety. Several other consumer communities of this type, notably users of certain intelligent and connected kitchen robots, are particularly active online.

Create new social connections

The relationships that users form help ensure that these objects are really used and do not remain neglected in the back of a cupboard. Maintaining an uninhibited relationship with brands, activists of homemade products, the most committed of them promote healthy eating. They – or very often they – exchange recipes, discuss the functionalities of their devices and do not hesitate to make suggestions for improvement to the manufacturer (“Consumers’ perceived value of Social IoT based online community: investigating social awareness processes surrounding smart kitchen robot appliances”Rajibul Hasan, Ronan de Kervenoael, Vinciane LePaih and Alexandre Schwob, Behavior & Information Technology not^bone 1-20, 2023).

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