Investor decision making: an investigation of the modality effect

Information modality refers to the use of different sensory channels to process information when making decisions: for example audible or visual information. This study examines the impact of information modality on investors making financial decisions. A Repertory Grid analysis is performed to derive features and functionality to create an Amazon Echo Show system for financial decision-making. This system is used to present a mixture of both audio and visual information to facilitate financial decision-making. The system is tested through the lens of the modality effect to determine the best method of presenting financial data to investors to inform their decision-making. Findings show the inferiority of audible information over visual information for retail investors’ decision-making, especially for numerical data. However, with adjustments in information length and by prioritising non-numerical data, audible information could be of significant benefit when designing future systems to aid investor decision-making.