Millennials prefer digital to physical for shopping

[nusratjahan]

Zebra Technologies Corporation , an innovator with solutions and partners that enable businesses to gain a performance advantage, today announced the results of its twelfth Global Shopper Study , a market monitoring tool that analyzes the behavior of shoppers, sales associates and store managers, and examines the effects of technology and retail trends on customer purchasing decisions.

Three-quarters of millennial shoppers and more than half of Gen X shoppers reported visiting a store and leaving without purchasing, only to purchase the item online. The primary reason retailers are losing in-store purchases to online shopping is inventory management issues, especially shop out-of-stock items . Both shoppers and sales associates expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of out-of-stock items, with a significant proportion of sales associates citing product shortages as the primary source of customer frustration, leading shoppers to leave the store without a purchase.

Self-service checkout technologies are becoming increasingly common in stores; the majority of shoppers said they have used them in the last six months and are comfortable using them. Furthermore, a significant portion of shoppers, especially millennials , believe that self-service checkouts improve the customer experience. A majority of store associates also say that the need for staffed checkouts is decreasing with new process automation technologies. Nearly nine out of 10 store managers believe that self-service checkouts free up associates' time to better serve customers, resulting in a return on investment.

Providing a better customer experience is crucial to keeping shoppers coming back. However, there's a serious disconnect between merchants' and customers' expectations: most store managers believe customers are satisfied with the in-store experience, while just over half of shoppers say the same. The survey also identified significant differences in the perception of the returns and exchanges process in terms of customer satisfaction and merchants' perception of that satisfaction. However, investments in mobile solutions have led managers and sales associates to agree that the availability of the latest in-store technologies contributes to an improved experience.