Digitalization boosting novel digital services for consumers

Digitalization has changed the world. The digital revolution has promoted the Internet, and more recently mobile network infrastructure, as the technological backbone of our society. Digital technologies have become more integrated across all sectors of our economy and society, and create novel possibilities for economic growth. Today, customers are more and more interested in value-added services, compared to the basic products of the past. Novel digital services, as well as the use of mobile services, has increased both at-work and during free time. However, it is important to understand the needs and expectations of the end users and develop future services with them. This paper focuses on pointing out the importance of user involvement and co-design in digital service development and providing insights on transformation caused by the digital revolution. Experiences and effects of user involvement and co-design are introduced with details via two case studies from the traditional retail domain.