Young grocery shoppers look for technology in store

IGD just completed an interesting survey of young shoppers (teenagers, specifically), and their preferences for human interaction during the shopping process. As this article from the Wise Marketer notes, it seems that for the younger generation, they want to see tomorrow's world today:

[M]ore than half (59%) of the consumers surveyed (13-19 year-olds) said they want little or no staff involvement in their shopping experience. Of this group, 66% would like to self-scan their purchases rather than wait in line to pay a checkout assistant. However, of those who still want human interaction, 57% want staff to pack their bags for them.

But, despite a strong acceptance of self-scanning, 40% still want human interaction while shopping - but they want staff to be deployed differently. The research found that, of those opting for continued staff involvement, improved customer service is required:

• 45% of teenagers want staff to take shopping to their cars;
  
• 41% want staff to get products they have forgotten while they are in line at the cash register

The most frequently cited reason for wanting self-service checkout solutions was, not surprisingly, speed. Still, the need for information plays a strong role as well. 26% of respondants said they'd be interested in "smart" shopping carts, and 22% wanted to see information kiosks placed throughout the store.

Past articles on self-checkout systems include:

Storefront Backtalk: Reports differ on self-checkout value
Self-checkout impacting impulse purchases?
Consumers expected to spend $475 Billion at self-service kiosks
Thieves steal using Tesco self-checkout systems
Self-service picking up in the UK

Tags: self-service, self-checkout, retail kiosks, kiosks