The type of retail store, however, affected these results. For example, customers looking for electronics were more apt to want to test products and get assistance from a salesperson as opposed to customers searching for clothes or apparel.
“It’s not that they don’t want any service at all, but what consumers increasingly want is to be able to control the service they are looking for,” Farla Efros, president of HRC Retail Advisory, told Reuters. In-store technologies such as mobile check-out or coupons and promotions delivered to customer’s mobiles are growing in popularity as is the option to reserve an item in advance to pick up later.
So, does this mean a merchant should be ridding themselves of employees and replacing them with tech? Not at all. The key seems to be finding the right balance of technology and human assistance that ultimately provides the customer with the answers they need as quickly as possible.
About the Author