Avoiding contact with others is one of the 3 main advantages of cashless shopping
When considering switching to new payment methods at the grocery checkout, customer preferences should be taken into account. When asked what the most important benefit of cashierless shopping would be, 84% of respondents said avoiding queues. The second most important benefit was 73% saying it was quicker to pay for groceries. The third main benefit (46%) was avoiding contact with people (e.g. in queues). This is an important factor, especially since COVID-19, and is likely to encourage the trend of cashierless shopping.
Since speed of checkout is a top priority for consumers, SMEs should ensure that the technology they use is quick to use and that easy-to-understand instructions are displayed so that even less tech-savvy customers can complete their purchases with ease.
A tip for SMEs : The introduction of unfamiliar technologies in stores could have a negative impact on some customers. Doubts about the efficiency of a new checkout process can be dispelled with the help of retail POS software , which can collect concrete data and generate reports on the time taken, items purchased and frequency of customer sales.
Every second person surveyed is afraid that their data will be hacked
Concerns about cashless shopping
Almost every second participant (49%) expressed fear that their data could be hacked while accessing the technology.
Companies should implement cyber security software . This can protect the security of customer data and make it safer from hacker attacks.
These three consumers further elaborate on their concerns:
“Lack of trust that the technology will work without disruption and problems if the phone fails, is broken or is not available”
“Knowing which data, in addition to the pure article and price, is collected, processed, israel telegram data combined and possibly sold or passed on free of charge”
49% would feel uncomfortable if the supermarket app were directly linked to their bank account
55% of participants said they would feel uncomfortable if these stores used facial recognition to confirm their identity or age. According to REWE , customers' faces are not recognizable despite camera recording and biometric data is not recorded. This means the system cannot recognize customers the next time they shop.
62% are very or somewhat concerned that their data and past purchases could be stored and used by stores and/or their technology partners. Data protection advocates believe that consumers must be clear about which data is being collected from them and that they must explicitly consent to this. As long as data processing is transparent and only customer data is evaluated for which customers have consented using an app or other technology, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does not represent an obstacle to cashier-free stores . At the REWE store in Cologne, customers have to check in with an app before shopping and consent to the collection.
Before shopping in a cashierless store, an app must be downloaded. A full 73% would feel comfortable with this.
We also wanted to know how comfortable consumers would feel if this app was directly connected to their bank account. 45% feel comfortable, 49% say they feel uncomfortable, and 6% are not sure.
Those who are not interested in the cashierless supermarket cite various reasons
We asked those who were not interested what they thought spoke against cashierless shopping. 60% said they did not want to use their smartphone to shop in a store, 59% did not want to contribute to automation/job elimination and 53% complained about not being able to use cash.