90% of Consumers Believe Technology Will Improve Their Overall Shopping Experience Consumer survey provides unique insights into consumer shopping habits
New York, NRF 2023
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January 15, 2023 08:05 AM Eastern Standard Time
A consumer shopping survey sponsored by Shekel Scales (ASX: SBW), the leader in advanced weighing technology, revealed that 90 percent of consumers believe technology will significantly improve the overall shopping experience. While nearly 60 percent of consumers cited technology that speeds and simplifies the self-checkout process, more than 30 percent of respondents expressed a desire for technology that helps them get in and out of the store as fast and as easily as possible. Conducted over SurveyMonkey, the Shekel survey measures consumer perceptions and attitudes on autonomous and frictionless shopping technology, such as self-checkout, smart carts, and vending machines. Nearly 80 percent of survey respondents were between the ages of 18-60 years old with 45 percent male and 55 percent female respondents.
Other key findings of the survey include:
Self-Checkout
- 50 percent of consumers cited frequent overrides or cashier intervention as the top concern with the self-checkout experience; 25 percent of respondents reported difficulties entering produce items and baked good items.
- In 93 percent of the responses, more accurate technology, system simplification for ease of use and improved user experience and eliminating the need to individually enter items were cited as reasons a consumer may be more likely to try self-checkout.
- An overwhelming 90 percent of consumers said a self-checkout system that could automatically identify produce items would be helpful during the checkout process.
Smart Cart
- 50 percent of consumers said they were not familiar with the concept of a smart cart. When provided with the definition of “a shopping cart that automatically performs checkout when items are added to the cart,” 74 percent of respondents said they were very likely or somewhat likely to try a smart cart if the option was available to them.
- The possibility of recording inaccurate transactions (60%) and potential technical difficulties with using a smart cart (40%) were cited together as the top barriers to smart cart adoption in a majority of responses.
Vending
- Consumers cited limited product selection (51%), a lack of fresh products (39%), and no customer service (33%) as the top three frustrations associated with vending machines.
- The inability to return items or purchase more than one item at a time also appeared in a combined 40 percent of responses.
“We first conducted a similar survey two years ago at NRF 2020, and this year’s results remove any lingering speculation as to whether consumers truly want technology to improve their shopping experience. All in all, consumers want to get in and get out as quickly and easily as possible,” said Nir Leshem, CEO of Shekel. “Whether retailers achieve that goal by offering faster, easier self-checkout or new smart carts, consumers are willing to adapt and will openly embrace any technology required to satisfy their needs. This marks a critical time for retailers to evaluate their autonomous and frictionless shopping strategies and how retail technology, like Shekel’s, can play a valuable role in enhancing the customer experience and capturing greater market share.”
Utilizing its experience in weighing technology, Shekel is at the forefront of developing products aimed at meeting the challenges retailers face today, such as store automation and operational excellence – including overstock and understock issues, loss prevention and enhancing the consumer experience. At NRF 2023, Shekel is introducing retailers to its new smart cart technology that enables a first-of-its-kind frictionless shopping solution to simplify consumer shopping experiences and increase security and legal-for-trade weighing for retailers. The solution weighs both fresh produce and packaged items, satisfying the retail market need for automated product recognition as the foundation for autonomous and frictionless retail.
Shekel will have the full survey results, as well as several breakthrough retail technology solutions including the new Smart Cart solution in booth 4045 during NRF 2023 (Retail’s Big Show).
About Shekel Scales
Shekel Scales is an innovative leader at the cutting edge of the global digital weighing industry for the past five decades. The company’s advanced weighing technologies are installed in nearly one million retail points of sale around the globe.
Shekel developed the patented “Product Aware Technology,” which delivers a unique combination of sophisticated software, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced algorithms. This technology is embedded in a range of products used in the retail, medical and industrial markets.
Based in Israel, Shekel has worldwide offices and manufacturing facilities. To learn more, please visit https://shekelonline.com/ and follow the company on LinkedIn.
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