Game changing automation tech can bring customers back in-store

59% of consumers who have previously visited stores with automation would be willing to shift their purchases from a retailer without such technologies, to one that offers them.

And that rises to 67% for 22-36 year-olds, according to a report from the Capgemini Research Institute.

This involved 5,110 consumers and 500 retail executives across North America, Europe and Asia. It also found that most of the former believe automation can help to solve pain points they experience in-store, including long checkout queues (66%), difficulty in locating products (60%) and products being out of stock (56%).

“Automation is an important part of how we respond to changing customer needs. Previously, our stores closed at 11pm and couldn’t serve people returning home late at night, often looking for something quick to eat,” says Kristian Bjørseth, Head of Payments and IDs at Coop Norway.

“So, we introduced Coop Key, an app that allows consumers to enter an unstaffed store after hours, and self-serve entirely. We’re now seeing substantial revenues between 11pm and midnight, and improved numbers for high-margin products such as frozen pizzas. Security and age-verification are ensured by biometrics in the app that identify every individual customer.”

“Automation provides a huge opportunity for retailers to gain back some of the ground they’ve lost to digital-native competitors and protect the market share they currently have through better efficiency, more convenience, and better sustainability,” comments Tim Bridges, Global Head of Consumer Goods and Retail at Capgemini.

“Making the right investment choice and acknowledging the need for a range of deployments across different functions could unlock significant potential across both operational and customer-facing department. Even in our technology-centric world it’s rare to find one investment opportunity with such wide-reaching potential.”