The retail industry is in a state of rapid change. More than ever, retailers need to understand their customers and quickly adapt to changing expectations and needs. E-commerce and other online channels disrupt the way shoppers gather information, engage with brands, and make buying decisions. As a result, traditional store concepts are no longer sufficient.
To succeed in today’s digitalized consumer landscape where convenience is key, brick-and-mortar retailers need to bridge the gap between physical and digital shopping. It is all about creating frictionless in-store experiences. Take what customers love about online shopping – like having detailed product information at their fingertips, digital shopping lists, easy checkout, etc. – and combine it with the hands-on experiences only physical retail can offer.
Stay up to date on retail industry trends and customer expectations. In this article, we present relevant facts, figures, and trends from independent research and industry reports so you can make informed decisions for your business. Follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook to get all the latest #retailfacts straight into your social feed. Our focus is on:
- Retail Innovation
- Retail Trends
- Customer Experience
- In-Store Technology
- Self-Checkout Technology
- Scan & Go Solutions
- Exit Solutions
82% of consumers would share personal data for a better customer experience
Personalization is getting more and more important in brick-and-mortar retail: 4 out of 5 consumers (82%) are willing to share personal data for a better experience. 💡
This can include information such as email address, birthday and age, and sex/gender identity topping the list of the PwC Customer Loyalty Survey 2022. 🆔
The study shows that consumers are more loyal to retailers that offer shopping experiences that feel personal and relevant. 🎯
Retail technology helps retailers offer personalized shopping experiences in their stores. Scan & Go, known for its mobile self-checkout capabilities, also is a great vehicle to serve customers with:
✅ Personalized recommendations
✅ Product information when they need it
✅ Loyalty benefits at their fingertips
What’s more, Scan & Go reduces the workload at the checkout, allowing store representatives to spend more time on customer service. 🙋♀️🙋♂️
What level of personalization do you want to see in stores in 2023?
72% of US holiday season sales are made in store
Retailers capitalize on renewed demand for in-store shopping! 🚀
72% of US Holiday Season sales will happen in a physical store, Bain & Company predict in their 2022 Holiday Season Outlook. Only 28% will be made through eCommerce and mail orders.
After several years of investing in eCommerce, retailers are shifting their focus on investments in their brick-and-mortar retail channels. 🛒
Retail technology like Scan & Go helps retailers to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping and offer a true omnichannel experience. 📱
Ultimately, consumers want to have a great shopping experience while keeping track of their spending in the face of high inflation. Scan & Go ticks all the boxes. 💯
51% of retailers equip store associates with mobile devices to improve service
In a true omnichannel world, store associates have mobile devices to assist and engage customers on the floor, with access to product information and more. 👇
According to the Omnichannel Retail Index, 51% of retailers already equip their store employees with mobile devices to improve operations and service. 🤳
In addition, retailers should empower their employees with the tools and proper training to capture key data in order to provide personalized experiences that drive repeat traffic and loyalty. 💯
That’s why our Scan & Go solution comes with a dedicated Employee App, giving them all the tools and information they need to support customers in the Scan & Go journey. 👌
What’ your take on this?
58% of consumers plan to cut back on spendings this holiday season
Rising costs hit consumers and retailers alike. 👇
FACTS & FIGURES
58% of consumers plan to cut back on spendings this holiday season, with 34% facing financial distress. 📉
Surprisingly, 50% of retailers expect sales to increase, showing some expectations are out of sync with reality, according to the 2022 Holiday Shopping Trends Report by Retail Economics and Metapack. 👁🗨
OPPORTUNITIES
As many e-commerce businesses are now increasing shipping costs, brick-and-mortar retailers should take advantage of their physical stores and help customers make informed purchase decisions. 👌
By offering Scan & Go, retailers enable customers to
✅ plan their shopping (shopping list feature),
✅ keep track of their basket value,
✅ take advantage of all discounts and loyalty bonuses,
✅ and get the best value while staying within budget.
60% of consumers want easier access to self-service solutions
60% of consumers want easier access to self-service solutions when shopping in their favorite stores. They expect retailers to offer them personalized experiences that don’t require interactions with other humans. 🤳
Scan & Go turns customer smartphones into portable self-service tools that allow them to scan products themselves, look up detailed product information, benefit from personalized recommendations and coupons, pay, and complete the checkout. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. 📱
Source: Talk by Andrew C. Allison from Google @Retail Arena 2022 in Stockholm
By 2027, the number of stores offering mobile self-scanning will triple
Mobile self-scanning is catching on in retail, with the number of stores offering this checkout option tripling by 2027, exceeding 160,000. 🚀
“We expect mobile self-scanning to expand rapidly, across a very large number of retailers and in new geographies,” Alex Maple, senior research analyst who led RBR’s Mobile Self-Scanning and Checkout-Free 2022 study, said to news service Retail Dive. “Whether it is scanning items with a smartphone or a handheld provided by retailers, reducing friction and improving shopping experience remains a key goal.”
shopreme Scan & Go is available for both smartphone apps and handheld scanners, which can be used in parallel in the same store. Our customer REWE uses this setup in its Scan & Go enabled stores in Germany.
Source: Retail Optimiser
71% of consumers want to use self-checkout
Digital tools play a big role in delivering the in-store experience that customers demand. Latest research by the IBM Institute for Business Value in association with National Retail Federation (NRF) found that 71% of consumers would like to use self-checkout when shopping with their favorite brick-and-mortar retailers. 🛒
Although consumers still rely on stores as part of their primary buying method (72%), they think the in-store experience could and should be improved, with almost 1 in 3 (31%) desiring faster checkout. 🚀
Scan & Go gives customers a convenient self-checkout option that allows them to not only speed up the checkout process but skip the queue entirely. 📱
Source: IBM
59% of retailers plan to offer Scan & Go in their stores
59% of retailers are making plans to introduce Scan & Go in their stores, while 39% of the businesses surveyed already offer the innovative checkout method to their customers, EHI Retail Institute found in a recent study. 📱
This clearly underlines the growing appetite for an alternative way to shop, with businesses eager to move beyond the classic cash desk to offer their customers a better in-store experience. 💯
Are you moving with the times or being left behind? Get in touch to see how Scan & Go can help your business!
Source: EHI Studie POS Systeme 2022
73% of consumers prefer to purchase products in-store
73% of consumers (and 55% of Gen Zers in particular) still prefer to purchase a product in-store, HubSpot found in their 2022 State of U.S. Consumer Trends Report. This shows the continued importance of brick-and-mortar retail even as online shopping becomes more mainstream. 🛒
Why not get the best of both worlds? 👇
Use Scan & Go to offer customers a smooth shopping journey that combines the efficiency of online shopping with the irreplaceable sensation of being in-store and holding the product in your own hands. 📱🛍️
Source: HubSpot 2022 State of U.S. Consumer Trends Report
57% of retail leaders plan to invest in shopper marketing & customer engagement
Shopper Marketing and Customer Engagement have high strategic importance for the long-term success of any retailer. 🧭
A full 57% of retail leaders plan to invest in these fields next year, RETHINK Retail found, putting this in second highest priority after investments in Inventory Control & Store Audits. 💡
Innovative retail technology such as Scan & Go allows retailers to bring personalized recommendations, ads, and discounts to the in-store experience and engage customers on their phones – on the shop floor and at home. 📱
Source: RETHINK Retail Merchandising Report 2020
60% of customers are more loyal to retailers that offer home delivery and let them switch channels on the fly
Customers expect retailers to deliver on every channel and let them flexibly switch between channels as needed. ⏪⏩
Adyen found that 60% of customers would be more loyal to retailers if they let them purchase an out-of-stock item in-store and have it delivered to their home. 42% also would be more loyal if they could start shopping in the store and finish online, or vice versa. 📦
This clearly shows that retailers need to think of their distribution channels as a holistic ecosystem and invest in systems that allow them to bridge the gap between digital and physical commerce. 🛒
In-store shopping no longer is a pure offline experience. Customers use their phones to look up product information and compare prices all the time. Scan & Go can help retailers take matters in their hands and connect online and offline shopping in the best way possible. 📱
Source: Adyen Retail Report 2020, p.24
Nearly half of consumers would pay for premium loyalty programs
Customer retention is one of the top concerns of every retailer, and loyalty programs are an excellent way of catering to that goal. 💳
Many consumers are even willing to pay to get access to premium loyalty programs. According to research from Clarus Commerce, 46% of surveyed consumers would pay up to $ 50 per year, and 22% would even be willing to pay up to $ 100 per year to secure premium benefits. 💯
A great example is Walmart‘s Scan & Go feature that only members of Walmart+, the retailer’s subscription-based premium loyalty program, can use to scan items in-store and pay for their entire cart from their phones. 📱
Source: https://www.supermarketnews.com/consumer-trends/many-consumers-willing-pay-premium-loyalty-programs
43% of hybrid grocery shoppers get better quality in-store than online
Hybrid retail is on the rise and more consumers are buying groceries online than ever before. However, physical grocery stores still have their right and place. 🏪
Only a physical store can give you the sensory experience and personal choice that is so important when shopping food. And so it’s no surprise that 43% of shoppers surveyed by FMI- The Food Industry Association said they get better quality items in the store. 🛒 Only 17% said the same for online purchases. 📦
Luckily, visiting the brick-and-mortar store around the corner doesn’t mean we have to miss out on the benefits we’re used to from online shopping. Retail technologies – such as Scan & Go – help retailers offer the same level of convenience and personalization, and engage customers on their smartphones wherever they are. 📱
Source: https://www.grocerydive.com/news/what-do-hybrid-grocery-shoppers-want/625678/
In-store shoppers are more loyal than consumers shopping online
In-store grocery shoppers are more loyal than consumers also shopping for groceries online. 💡
According to the dunnhumby Consumer Trends Tracker, omnichannel shoppers 🖱️ spread their spending across more retailers on average (estimated range: 3.9 to 6.6 across all channels) than a typical brick-and-mortar customer shopping an average of 3.2 retailers a month. 🛒
Retailers that can provide seamless customer experiences and value-added services across all channels have a clear advantage in retaining customers for the long term. Often, Scan & Go 📱 is the missing link in connecting digital and physical retail and engaging customers in the store and at home.
Source: https://resources.dunnhumby.com/dunnhumby-quarterly-june-2022/dunnhumby-consumer-trends-tracker
Shoppers increasingly expect very efficient checkout
Grocery shoppers increasingly expect the checkout process to be efficient regardless of how or where they shop – in store or online – FMI found. 
Scan & Go is an excellent way for grocers to reduce friction, speed up the checkout, and cut down on lines. 
It is also a great opportunity to offer customers a hybrid shopping journey that ties together the retailer’s app, website, and in-store experience. 
This opens up a large array of personalized, value-added services retailers can offer to bind customers to their brand and save their spot in an ever more competitive retail landscape.
Source: Grocery Dive
62% go out of their way to visit retailers that make shopping easy
In the face of the COVID-pandemic, retailers have had no choice but to accelerate changes that would have otherwise taken years, e.g. curbside pick-up or in-app payments to ensure the safety and health of their customers. Customers have now gotten used to these perks and are not willing to give them up again, in fact 62% of them say that they would even go out of their way to shop at a retailer that offers an easy and convenient customer journey.
With Scan & Go, the customer journey has never been more convenient and smooth. With in-app payment, joint shopping lists, detailed product information, personalized recommendations, and more value-added features, customers can enjoy the perfect shopping experience, rounded off by being able to leave the store without having to queue at the checkout.
Source: Adyen Retail Report 2020
58% use their smartphone in the store to look up product information
The smartphone has become our daily companion, so it’s no surprise that most retail customers also use their phones while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. 🤳
🔍They look up product information (58%)
💶They check and compare prices (54%)
🔥 They access or download digital coupons (40%)
Younger shoppers are even more likely to use their smartphones for product and price research, going as high as 69% and 61%, respectively, in the 25–34 age group.
This poses an invaluable opportunity to brick-and-mortar retailers: by providing all the information customers seek in their own app, tightly integrated with the Scan & Go journey, they can influence what customers get to see on the shop floor and bond them with value-added services tailored to the customers’ interests, preferences, and needs. 📱
Source: Retail Dive
Retailers need to invest in digital transformation in order to target Gen Z
Gen Z-ers are the first to have completely grown up with smartphones – they have not experienced a life without digital mobile devices.
With Gen Z ranging from ~1995 to ~2010, the older members of this generation have already become both customers and employees. For retail, this means: Gen Z are now independent and have spending power of their own. They have strong opinions and very specific wants and needs retailers have to meet.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance for retailers to invest in digital transformation to attract and retain Gen Z customers, e.g. by implementing state-of-the-art retail technologies such as Scan & Go.
With Scan & Go, customers can scan products with their smartphones, receive personalized recommendations, redeem vouchers and also pay within the app. They can then leave the store without having to queue, experiencing an almost fully digital customer journey.
Source: Deloitte Retail Trends 2022
28% want convenience and speed of online shopping also in stationary retail
Research shows that 28% of UK shoppers would only continue to shop the High Street if they could experience the same speed and convenience as they do when shopping online. This should prompt retailers to focus on investments in technology and digital innovation to ensure that consumers can experience a true omnichannel journey in their retail stores.
With Scan & Go, retailers can provide their customers with the best of both worlds: they can enjoy the various advantages of in-store shopping, such as touching, smelling, and looking at products in person while simultaneously using their own smartphones to scan and pay for these products without having to queue afterwards. Various other value-added features such as shared shopping lists, detailed product info, or in-app promotions complete the perfect customer journey.
Source: Retail Technology Show: Retail Revolution: 5 Trends Redefining Retailing (2022), page 5
Three times higher returns can be achieved when offering excellent customer experience
Retail brands that provide excellent customer experiences have been shown to achieve three times higher returns as companies that fail to do the same.
According to McKinsey, retailers need to double down on digital channels and create innovation in omnichannel strategies in order to gain and retain customers. Retailers need to make sure that the customer experience is truly smooth and seamless.
With shopreme Scan & Go, a frictionless customer journey is a given. Provide your customers with shared shopping lists, in-app payment, skipping queues, and many more value-added features.
Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/adapting-to-the-next-normal-in-retail-the-customer-experience-imperative
50% of consumers expect personalized recommendations and marketing
Half of consumers already expect personalized product recommendations and marketing, Contentstack found in their digital experiences survey.
Scan & Go brings personalized product recommendations to brick-and-mortar stores and helps retailers drive loyalty and revenue by digitally engaging customers on the shop floor through their own devices.
37% of consumers prefer technology to be integrated into their in-store journey
37% of consumers state that they prefer technology to be integrated into their physical in-store journeys. This way, shoppers can experience a more blended, omnichannel customer journey, which is also quicker and more efficient.
One of the most rapidly growing technologies is self-checkout. Through shorter queuing times and fewer labor hours of employees, it is a very attractive tool for both consumers as well as retailers.
With Scan & Go, customers can enjoy the best of both worlds: selecting products in person at the store while also receiving detailed information on these products in the app. Features such as shared shopping lists, in-app promotions and contactless payment complete the perfect customer journey.
Source: Retail Technology Show: Retail Revolution: 5 Trends Redefining Retailing (2022), page 7
63% of Customers Choose a Retailer with Payment-Linked Loyalty
For the majority of customers – 63% according to Adyen’s Retail Report 2020 – payment-linked loyalty programs are a deciding factor in choosing a retailer.
Scan & Go solutions help brick-and-mortar retailers seamlessly integrate loyalty programs into a frictionless shopping experience to engage, win, and retain customers – in the store and at home.
Further features such as shared shopping lists, detailed product information, in-app promotions, and many more complete the perfect seamless customer journey.
Source: Adyen Retail Report 2020
93% of Retailers expect an Increase in the Use of Consumer Mobile Devices in Stores
According to the 2022 Connected Retail Experience Study by Incisiv (sponsored by Verizon), 93% of retailers expect an increase in the use of consumer mobile devices in stores by 2025 and are therefore speeding up their plans of implementing and improving the digital customer journey in their stores.
Only 20% of grocery/general merchandise retailers and 32% of specialty/department store retailers are satisfied with their current ability to manage peak network traffic. Scan & Go is a great opportunity help customers skip the queue and benefit from many value-added features.
shopreme offers retailers a complete Scan & Go ecosystem for successfully digitalizing the checkout and providing customers with the perfect shopping experience. Our solution portfolio covers consumer apps, employee clients, data exchange infrastructure, and in-store exit hardware to create a seamless customer journey from start to finish.
Source: https://www.chainstoreage.com/study-mobility-and-automation-are-coming-store
Shoppers Expect Frictionless Checkout
Shoppers will expect skipping the checkout line via frictionless payment to become a daily option at large chain grocery stores.
With Scan & Go, you can give your customers exactly what they want: skipping the queue, contactless shopping, and value-added features to go with it. That includes digital shopping lists and in-app product information.
The editors at Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News, and Food Management identified this as one of the retail industry trends in 2022. They drew upon data, input from industry watchers, and their own deep industry knowledge.
Source: Trends & Predictions for 2022. 73 expert predictions for the foodservice and grocery industries.
58% Increase Investments in Digital Commerce Tactics
58% of organizations are substantially increasing investment in digital commerce tactics, research finds. Brick-and-mortar retailers need to invest in hybrid solutions when it comes to customer experience to bridge the gap between digital and in-store retail to stay competitive.
Scan & Go offers the perfect phygital shopping experience. Customers can choose, scan, and pay for their purchase with their own smartphone while enjoying the perks of in-store shopping, such as touching, smelling, and looking at products in person.
Source: Gartner – Digital Commerce Strategic Priorities by Industry
71 % Don’t Return After a Bad Experience
Seven out of ten retail customers will not revisit a store if they’ve had a bad experience there. This means: offering an enjoyable customer experience is crucial to the success of any retail business, and state-of-the-art retail technology can make the difference.
Scan & Go helps brick-and-mortar retailers create outstanding shopping experiences and perfect the customer journey with joint shopping lists, detailed product information, personalized recommendations, contactless payment, and more – all on the customer’s smartphone.
Source: Adyen Retail Report 2020
Retail Customers Want Contactless Shopping
Search, transact, acquire, and consume: Research shows that retail customers now demand touchless interactions across their whole shopping experience. Retailers also need to offer personalized features to make customers feel valued and appreciated.
With Scan & Go, customers can access detailed product information, get personalized recommendations and coupons, share and co-edit shopping lists, and complete their purchases completely touchless. All on their smartphone, offering them precisely what they need.
Source: Gartner – Top Trends in Retail Digital Transformation and Innovation for 2021
93% of Consumers Use Smartphones
Almost all customers use a smartphone every day, which gives retailers a highly valuable opportunity to connect and engage with their customers while they are shopping at the store.
Scan & Go is the perfect combination between traditional retail and digital convenience – easy to use with detailed product information, tailor-made recommendations, and much more.
Source: Adyen Retail Report 2019
Demand for contactless shopping is higher than ever
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for contactless shopping and digital payment has increased significantly.
The amount of consumers who wish to pay in cash has dropped by a striking 44%, whereas 31% of consumers believe they will use a digital wallet for future purchases more often. Scan & Go solutions are a great fit to meet changing consumer behavior and offer smooth and safe shopping experiences.
Source: KPMG – Consumers and the new reality
Rush Hour Queues Do Not Affect Scan & Go Users
Research shows that retail customers using mobile Scan & Go self-checkout have a much more time-efficient shopping experience – even during rush hours.
App users can skip queues and save an average of 60 seconds at checkout compared to regular shoppers during peak retail hours.
10x More Retail Stores Use Scan & Go Compared to 2019
Latest EHI Retail Institute research underpins the case for Scan & Go. 📍 Mobile self-checkout implementations come with low investment and risk. We are excited to see rapidly increasing consumer acceptance and expect it to become the standard checkout form across the retail industry.
Source: EHI Retail Institute – Self-Checkout: Markterhebung 2021
Black Friday – customers want hybrid experiences without queues.
Black Friday is a day of great success and challenges for retailers every year. Long queues and waiting times top the list of shopping experience killers among customers. Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Black Friday Consumer Sentiment study shows that 48% of consumers favor a hybrid on- and offline shopping experience. In-store technology such as Scan & Go allows shoppers to pay on their smartphone and skip the queue.
Source: Boston Consulting Group – Black Friday Consumer Sentiment 2021
91% Prefer Stores Offering Personalized Recommendations
Today, customers are used to the convenience of online shopping, where personalized recommendations help them find the products they want and discover new ones they might like.
Brick-and-mortar retailers can leverage in-store technology like Scan & Go to offer the same level of convenience and drive purchase decisions with personalized recommendations. This allows them to create memorable shopping experiences and map and optimize the entire customer journey based on data.
Source: Accenture – The Retail Experience Reimagined
More Customers Will Shop Online Globally
The likelihood that customers will be more eager to shop online in the future rises to 55% globally. It is becoming crucial for retailers to invest in digitalization and bind customers to their own online channels through Offline-to-Online effects.
Source: EY Future Consumer Index