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Study suggests consumer desire for self-service

May 31, 2006

The Retail Bulletin: Customers want convenience, a flexible approach to meet the needs of their various shopping missions and seamless multichannel operations - or so a survey of 5,000 consumers in the United Kingdom, France and Germany conducted by IBM and The Store/Kantar suggests.

John Riccio, retail industry leader with IBM's global business service, said technology is key. He says grocery shopping is seen by most consumers as a chore so "simple" that guided and controlled tools - such as self-checkout or trolley-mounted personal shopping devices - are ideal to streamline operations. In apparel, shopping stock availability is key, so technology can be used to locate particular items both in the store and at the distribution center for direct-mail. In that environment, a kiosk also could be beneficial.

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