While some Canadian Tire stores are moving away from self-serve kiosks, there still appears to be a great deal of Canadians who prefer that retailers offer more service options through technology.
According to the new Connected Retailer Study from mobile and IoT device management solutions SOTI, 64 percent of Canadians say they think retailers that use mobile technology through self-serve kiosks and employees offer a faster and more convenient shopping experience.
Further, 62 percent of Canadian consumers said self-service technologies like kiosks and digital signage will improve their in-store shopping experience, while 78 percent of consumers said arming sales associates with technology will improve their shopping experience.
“SOTI’s Connected Retailer Survey indicates that consumers want technology that provides them with a quicker and more convenient shopping experience without losing the human contact they find in stores,” said Ryan Webber, director of enterprise mobility at SOTI. “In an era where mobility has endless possibilities, these results prove the critical role that mobile technology can play in enhancing a customer’s retail experience, and retailers need to start delivering on customer’s evolving expectations quickly and efficiently.”
Webber added that retailers need to work on “building mobile apps, that are both customer- and sales associate-facing, managing critical processes like payment transactions, and being able to quickly troubleshoot devices on the floor to reduce downtime, and, ultimately, customer frustration.”
However, SOTI found that many Canadians aren’t actually adopting more modern tech solutions at home. According to the survey, of the 31 percent of Canadians who have an in-home virtual assistant like Google Home or Alexa, only 11 percent have used it for voice-activated shopping. On the other hand, 25 percent of U.S. consumers are using their virtual assistants for voice-activated shopping.
That said, the majority of Canadians are happy to have more technology be used to actually deliver their products to their homes. In fact, 64 percent of respondents said they would be comfortable with new shipping methods from retailers, including those offered by tech-based solutions. Specifically, 27.67 percent of Canadians said they would be fine with drone deliveries, while 25.3 percent would have no problem with autonomous vehicle deliveries.
SOTI conducted the survey among 506 Canadian consumers between the ages of 18 and 60-years-old. The survey was conducted through Survey Monkey throughout December 2018.
Image credit: Flickr — ethan2226
Source: SOTI
