Too much retail automation too soon? Examining the recent customer backlashes against M&S and Tesco
Is the constant drive by retailers to innovate via technology deployments really delivering what their customers want and need?
Last week, we reported that Marks and Spencer had come under fire from disgruntled elderly customers after closing traditional counters in eight digital cafes, including at two of the retailer’s megastores.
With orders placed via touchscreens, staff are now focused on making food and drinks rather than taking orders, with customers alerted when their order is ready.
Elderly shoppers have described the move, which ushers in cashless payments, as “abhorrent”, The Telegraph reports.
M&S is also testing out self-service belted checkouts alongside manned tills in two food halls.
These can be found at London Colney, near Watford, and White Rose Shopping Centre near Leeds - two of its largest stores which also have the digital cafes installed.
In a LinkedIn post, Ron Delnevo, Chair of the UK Cash Supply Alliance, said: “Really silly, thoughtless stuff from M&S. If you want to find out how to alienate your customers, just read and copy!”
Meanwhile, on Friday, 16th June, a demonstration is set to take place outside Welwyn Garden City railway station as Tesco staff and customers vent spleen about the automation of the grocery giant’s stores.
Said station has been chosen as it is where shuttle buses will be taking shareholders to Tesco’s annual general meeting.
The latter announced last year that, due to a lack of customer demand, it was to remove a number of traditional checkouts from many of its larger stores to include more self-service tills.
The new additions would be three times longer than standard sizes, allowing up to six bags to be packed at once, it claimed.
The aforementioned demonstration is part of a petition that was launched last year and has over 240,000 signatures opposing the shift to automation.
An organiser of the protest said: "Tesco is ploughing ahead with more automation than ever before.”
“Sadly, other supermarkets have joined them as we move towards a cashless society and automated check-outs. This new way of shopping is destroying jobs, disenfranchising many and making our shopping trips self-service card only.”
We flag up these two stories as they highlight an important issue in the omnichannel retail space, one that arguably is not discussed nearly enough.
In a recent article for RTIH, Mike Cadden, a veteran IT Director and CIO, observed that the retail industry has always been dynamic and innovative, constantly adapting to changing consumer needs and technological advancements.
Covid, he noted, increased this rate of both innovation and adoption, with retailers having to invest heavily in contactless retail systems, kerbside collection and delivery systems. The old cliché “necessity being the mother of invention” had never been more apt.
“Those in technology were delivering solutions and services that retailers needed to keep trading and consumers wanted to keep buying,” Cadden wrote.
He added: “Since then, though, is it time to ask whether the constant drive to innovate, for technological improvements is really delivering what our customers, whether consumer or retailer, want and need?”
“Are we, and this is a difficult question for someone who lauds ongoing innovation, innovating for innovation’s sake, rather than to solve real problems. Have we lost sight of what we should be doing?”
“And as a retailer, we need to ask, do consumers want more technology or do they just want the basics, delivered at a price they can afford.”
The case for automation
With costs continuing to rise, and labour shortages in some countries, increasing automation will enable retailers to mitigate these pressures while offering customers a choice of shopping experience.
There is undoubtedly some merit to this argument.
And there are also many examples of innovations that have been embraced by consumers and retailers in recent years. QR codes, anyone?
But in the rush to innovate, retailers often risk losing sight of the basics, as is demonstrated by the aforementioned Tesco and M&S controversies.
To quote Cadden’s article: “Retail will, and indeed must, keep innovating. Retail execs must look for new ways to place the customer at the heart of their transformations. AI will transform how technology talks to live consumers. But the single, most important thread running through all these innovations has to be the customer.”
“Don’t pretend you know what they want. Learn what they want and deliver it.”
Continue reading…