SOTI：消费者对零售数字化转型的需求

ONEPLATFORMCONNECTINGEVERYTHING

CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

2024

Lookingatthecurrentstateoftheretailindustry,onlineretailhasbenefittedfromfasterpayments,

consumerpersonalizationandprofilebuilding.

Theseelementsareembeddedintothefabricofanimprovedshoppingexperienceandasteptowardsachievingdigitaltransformationinretail.

Thisyear,SOTI’s2024retailreportlooksatthein-storeexperienceandhowithasevolved.In

the2023retailreport,wefoundthatconsumerswantedmorepersonalizationin-store,calling

fortheuseofmobiletechnologytoelevatetheexperience.

Despitetheanticipationin

2023aboutwhatthestore

ofthefuturemightlooklike,thereseemstobemore

frustrationfromconsumers

todayregardingdevices

usedin-storeandhowthesedevicesarebeingmanaged,maintainedandsecured.

SOTIuncoversthreekeyareaswhereretailersarefallingshortandtheobstaclestheyneedto

overcomeinordertoimproveandachievetheirin-storedigitaltransformationgoals:ArtificialIntelligence(AI)andtheconsumerexperience,supplychainoptimizationandsecurity.

AIandtheconsumerexperienceexploreswhattechnologyanddevicesconsumersarebeing

presentedwithin-store,whatsolutionstheyare

ShashAnand,SVP,ProductStrategy

Supplychainoptimizationreferstoconsumer

demandaroundinstantorflexibleproduct

availabilitybeingmadepossiblewiththecurrent

technologiesofferedin-storeandonline,whilealsoexploringtheimpactsofsupplychainoptimizationonconsumerloyalty.

Lastly,securitybuildsonhowdevicesareused

in-store,specificallywhenenteringpersonaldetailsandassessesconsumertrustinretailers.

Thisreportexplorestheextentofhowdevicesare

usedinmoderndayretailaroundtheworld,

consumerperceptionssurroundingthisexperience,whetherretailershaveconnectedthesupplychaintoensuretheycandeliveronpromisesandwhether

thispotentiallackofconnectivityiscreatingsecurityrisks.

Lookingtothefutureoftheindustry,thesesame

retailersmustfocusonthetechnologiesthemselvesandtheinfrastructurearoundthem;howaretheseapplications,devicesandtechnologysolutions

beingmanaged,monitoredandmaintained?Are

thesedevicesconnectedtotheentiresupplychain

nowfamiliarwithandwhetherfamiliarity

correlateswithsatisfactionwhenitcomestoself-servecheckouts.

toensureend-to-endvisibility,anddotheyelevatetheconsumerexperience?SOTI’s2024retailreportwillhelpanswerthesequestionsandbeyond.

2TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

CONTENTS

Methodology

KeyFindings

AIandtheConsumerExperience

SupplyChain

Optimization

Security

Conclusion

3

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-

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Whenaskedaboutconsumershoppingpreferences:

35%

Ofconsumersareconcernedaboutfinancialandidentityfraud.

.

SOTI’sresearchwasconductedbetweenSeptember3andSeptember14,

2023via11,000self-completedinterviewssubmittedfromninemarkets

aroundtheworld.Allintervieweeswereconsumersbetween18and65yearsofage.

Themarketsrepresentedare:theU.S.(2,000),

Canada(1,000),Mexico(1,000),UK(2,000),

Germany(1,000),France(1,000),Sweden(1,000),

theNetherlands(1,000)andAustralia(1,000).

4TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

91%ofconsumershaveusedin-storetechinretail,and69%haveusedself-servecheckouts.However,69%alsosaidthereoftenisnotenoughstafftohelpresolveissueswiththose

self-servemachines.

ExpecttoknowwhereanConfirmtheyshopwithWouldprefertoshoponline

goods

thanin-store.

orderisatalltimes.

brandsthatdeliver

thefastest.

Enjoythespeed

Iffulfillmentisexpectedto

exceedtwodays,41%confirm

theywouldlookelsewhere.

and

conveniencethatin-store

deviceshavethepotential

tobring.

20245

A

A

2024

THE

AI

STUCKATSELF-SERVE:

RETAILHASYETTOOPTIMIZE

TECHNOLOGIESBEYOND-

OREVENAT-THECHECKOUT

In-storedevicesarenolongeranovelty.Only9%ofconsumers

haveneverusedanyformoftechnologydesignedtoimprovetheir

shoppingexperience.Amongyoungerdemographics,thisnumber

dropsto5%.However,thisdoesnotmeanalltechnologiesare

beingusedtothesameextent,orthatalldevicesareleadingto

consumersatisfaction.

6TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

Whichin-storedeviceshaveyouusedoverthelastyear?

36%

POSdevices

(e.g.,barcode/handheld

scanners,tablets,

cardreadersand

touchscreens)

69%

Self-serve

checkouts

34%

Handheldstore

scanners

32%

Kiosks

(e.g.,toprintphotos,

self-serveairportcheck

inorcheckoutat

supermarkets)

7

Self-servecheckouts

POSdevices

Handheldstorescanners

Kiosks

In-storetabletsfororderinggoods

In-storetabletsforcompletingorderforms

In-storetabletsforseeingreviews

67%

saidtabletswerenot

improvingtheirshopping

experienceforcompleting

orderforms.

65%

saidtabletswerenot

improvingtheirshopping

experienceforordering

goods.

2024

-

Consumeropinionofdevicetechnologyusein-store

40%

45%

15%

37%

51%

12%

46%

44%

10%

36%

50%

15%

35%

47%

18%

33%

47%

20%

36%

47%

17%

Myshoppingexperiencewasimproved

Myshoppingexperiencewasneitherbetternorworse

Myshoppingexperiencewasworse

Self-servecheckoutsareaninterestingcasestudy,asithasbeenthemostnormalizedin-storetechinrecentyears.Yet,45%saidtheshoppingexperiencehadbeenmadeneitherbetternorworsebyitsintroduction.

OnlyinMexico(61%),theNetherlands(50%),Germany(46%)andSweden(46%)wasan‘improvedexperience’themostfrequentanswerregardingself-servecheckouts.

IntheUKandCanada,21%and19%respectivelyclaimedself-servecheckoutsworsenedtheirin-storeshoppingexperiences.

64%

saidtabletswerenot

improvingtheirshopping

experienceforseeing

reviews.

8TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

.

Believetabletsfor

orderinggoodsare

makingtheshopping

experienceworse.

Believetabletsaremaking

theshoppingexperience

worsewhenitcomesto

seeingreviews.

Believetabletsforcompleting

orderformsaremakingthe

shoppingexperienceworse.

9

39%

37%

NotenoughstaffaroundtohelpmeworkoutthedeviceissueIhad(e.g.scanningissues).

Wi-Fi/network/cellularsignalwasnotgoodinthestore,impactingthe

in-storeapplication.

Themostdissatisfyingdevicewasrevealedtobein-store

tabletsusedforcompletingorderforms.Onlyone-third

statedtheyhaveimprovedtheshoppingexperienceand

one-fifthbelievetheyhavehadanegativeeffect.

Itisthereforeimportanttofindout

whytabletshavefailedtoresonate

withconsumers:

40%

Iordereditemsusinganin-storedevice,

butwhenIwenttothecheckout,itsaid

goodswereoutofstock.

Icameintothestoretobuygoodsand

theretailstaffhadtoorderthemonline

usingthestoredeviceanyway.

34%

Thesestatisticsdemonstrateashortfallnotonlyinconsumersatisfaction,butinthelackofintegrationoftechnologiesthemselves.Asanautomatedservice,thesedevicesaresupposedtoresultinsmoothsupplychainconnectivityandreal-timeinformationbeingaccuratelypresentedtotheconsumerfor

stockavailability.Withthat,40%ofrespondentshavebeentoldanitemisavailableandlaterbetolditisoutofstock.InAustralia(57%)andtheNetherlands(55%),thisinformationshortfallandtechnologymalfunctionisevenmoreextreme.

10TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

ConsumersalsostatedthatWi-Fiwasnotstrongenoughin-storefortheapplicationtoworkproperly.Morethanone-third(34%)ofglobalconsumershaveexperiencedthissignificantdownfall,andin

Canadathenumberreaches50%.ItistroublingtothinkthatbusinessesaretryingtointegrateAI-basedautomateddeviceswithoutproperfunctioningWi-FiandInternetconnectionstooperatethem.

Additionally,thereisaclearissuewiththeusabilityoftabletsin-store,with39%requiringstaff

interventiontoorderitemsonline.Interestingly,thisissueofusabilityismostfrequentinMexico(60%)andGermany(62%)–twocountriesthatshowedagenerallevelofsatisfactionwithin-storedigitization.

Self-serve

checkouts:

Handheldscanners:

51%

69%

Notenoughstafftohelpresolvedeviceissues.

Notenoughstafftohelp

resolvedeviceissues.

devices:

POS

Tablets

fororderinggoods:

48%

42%

Notenoughstafftohelpresolvedeviceissues.

Retailstaffhadtoorder

onlineforthem.

Tablets

Kiosks:

forseeingreviews:

34%

41%

Notenoughstafftohelpresolvedeviceissues.

Ordered

itemsusingthe

devicetolaterfindtheywere

outofstock.

202411

CAN’T

-

PERSONALIZATION

Understandingconsumers’feelingstowardsspecificin-storetechnologies,theywerealsoaskedabout

theircurrentshoppingpreferences:

30%

Ilikewhenaretaileronlinesuggestsa

productorservicebasedonmypreviouspurchases–itfeelsmorepersonalized.

27%

Ilikehoweasyitistogethelpwhen

shoppingonline,itisabetterservicethanin-store.

help

Ilikeitwhenretailersuseadevicetomewithmyin-storeexperience.

26%

Ifinditusefulwhenanonlineretailer

flagswhenitthinksIamabouttorunoutofaproductandmakesiteasyformetoorderitagain.

IamexcitedabouthowAIwillbeusedbyretailerstoimproveandpersonalizemyretailexperienceonlineandin-store.

2024

12TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

WHY

THE

24%

23%

.

Manyofthesebenefitsrelatetotheonline

shoppingexperience,pointingtoaspectsof

consumerassistance,personalization,saved

preferencesandrecommendations.For

many,thesepositiveonlineelementsarenot

experiencedin-store.

Regionalhighlights:

Germanconsumers(35%;globalaverage24%)aremorelikelytofindit

usefulwhenanonlineretailerflagsthattheyareabouttorunoutofa

product,makingiteasiertoreorderandreplenish.

TheU.S.(21%)toppedMexico(19%)whenaskedaboutfindingthe

in-storeshoppingexperiencefrustratingcomparedtoonline

personalization(globalaverage17%).

Sweden(28%)joinedMexico(31%)andGermany(31%)insharing

excitementabouthowAIwillbeusedbyretailerstoimprove

personalizationin-storeandonline.

WhatdoesthismeanforfutureAIadoption?

Inrecentyears,retailershavebeenfocusedonmasteringAI’sinfluenceonline,butithasnot

translatedtoin-store.Retailersneedtobuildaninfrastructurethatallowsforonlinebenefitstobereplicatedin-storeandfornewdevicestothriveinthosephysicalenvironmentswithAI.Thiswillalloworganizationstoimprovesupplychainconnectivity,forecastingandreplenishment,while

ensuringstockavailabilityandreducingwaste.

Forallthistohappen,retailersneedtogetbacktobasicsanddeployimproveddevice

managementsolutionsandplatforms.Withlargeinvestmentsine-commerce,retailerswithanomnichannelmodelneedtobuildtheirin-storeinfrastructureinawaythatenablesAIand

automationtohittheirmark.

13

Almostone-third(30%)

confirmedstaffshortage

whenitcomestokioskissues:

UK–39%

Australia–35%

15

Thetopanswerreflectsconsumers‘directexposuretoretailers’supplychainsandtheneedtohaveasynchronizedreflectionofwhatisavailable,throughwhatchannelsandinwhattimeperiod.The39%whohaveusedamobiledevicetolocateinventory

reachedashighas47%intheU.S.andMexico,and46%inSweden.

However,inFrance,onlyone-quarterhaveembracedthisdigitalprocess,andtheyarenotaloneinrevealingmorenegativeexperiencesoruseratesofcertaintechnologies.

Self-servecheckoutsonceagainappearedasaconfusingandchallengingtechnologyfor38%,andevenmoreofanissuein

someregions:

U.S.–49%

UK–51%

Canada–47%

Australia–52%

38%alsocitedalackof

stafftohelpwithqueries,impactingcustomer

servicein-store:

Canada–48%

U.S.–45%

Australia–44%

-

-.

Thisrisesto27%intheUK,30%inbothCanadaandAustralia,and31%intheU.S.For25-30%ofconsumersaroundtheworld,poortechfunctionalityandadisjointedsupplychaincan

forcethemtoshopelsewhere.

CONSUMERDEMANDMEETS

CONSUMERCONFUSION

Whenaskedabouttheirshoppinghabitsovertheyears,

86%ofrespondentswereabletolistatleastonespecific

instanceofdeviceuse,orexperienceeitheronlineor

in-storethatreflectthisnewnormforretail.

14TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL2024

thanin-store.

16TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

Manyoftheseissuescanberesolvedwithamoreseamless,intuitiveandautomatedsupplychain

operationdesignedtoensurereal-time,reliablevisibilityofitems;toboththeconsumer,andin-storestaff.Thissupplychainoptimizationisespeciallyimportant,given:

Nearlyhalfofrespondents(45%)nowexpecttobeabletopickupanitemorderedonlinefromaphysicalstorethatsameday.

Thisrisesto:

60%inMexico

49%

57%inAustralia

45%

些54%intheU.S.

41%

Lesslikelytoorderanitemthatrequiresshippingfromoverseasthanoneyearago.

ExpecttopickupanyitemI

haveorderedonlinefroma

storeonthesameday.

Statetheywilllookelsewhere

ifdeliveryorpickupofan

itemismorethantwodays.

lost.

Overthepastyear,almosttwo-thirds(62%)ofglobalconsumersconfirmedtheyhave

continuedshoppingwithbrandsthatdelivergoodsthefastest.Quickdeliverycan

onlybeachievedwithAI-drivenforecastingandinventorymanagementsolutionsto

ensureavailabilityofitems.Thenoptimizedconnectivityofsolutionsbetweenthe

warehouse,distributionchannelsandthestoretoguaranteeultimatefulfillmentand

consumersatisfaction.

74%

.

Thesupplychainisalsocriticaltokeeppersonalizationpromises,and57%globallyconfirmthey

prefertoshopwithretailersthatcanofferpersonalizedsuggestions.Thisfigurerisesto62%intheU.S.and65%inMexico.

Sayitisfrustratingtofind

usetechnologyin-store.

45%someonewhocanhelpthem

Prefertoshop

online,rather

43%

64%

57%

Reportthesameaboutonlineretailers.

Wouldbemorelikelytochooseanin-storeretailerifmultiplereturnpointsareoffered.

InSOTI’s2023retailreport,63%ofconsumersstatedtheywouldlikethereturnsprocesstobeeasierandpreferablyautomated.Thisyear’sfiguresconfirmreturnsarestilladifferentiator.

Asmooth,well-connected,digitally-enabledsupplychainmakesorbreaksthiscapabilityintheeyesofaglobalconsumerbasethatisclearlywillingtoabandonloyaltytofindit.

Consumersdemandpointstothreekeyareasoftheretailexperience–speed,visibilityandreturn

options.Allofthesedependonasupplychainthatisseamlesslyconnectedandvisibleinreal-timetoboththeretailerandconsumer.

2024

17

40%

42%

40%

28%

23%

43%

38%

34%

39%

42%

34%

39%38%37%34%31%34%

2024

SECURITY

PAYINGTHEULTIMATE

PRICE:THECOSTOFFRAUD

Consumershaveshowntheyarenotresistanttonew

technologyandtheblendofbothonlineandin-store

shopping,buttheyareunderstandablyworriedabout

howthismightimpacttheirprivacyorfinancialsafety.

18TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL

THINKINGABOUTPAYMENTS,RESPONDENTSWEREASKEDWHATCONCERNS

THEMABOUTENTERINGPERSONALDETAILSONLINEORVIAIN-STOREDEVICES?

IamconcernedIwillbecomeavictimoffinancialfraud

35%

IamconcernedIwillbecomeavictimofidentityfraud

35%

IdonotwantaretailerIdon’tknowhavingaccesstomypersonaldata

34%

Iamconcernedaboutcriminalsstealingmypersonaldetailsfromtheretailer

34%

Mypersonaldataandpaymentinformationwillnotbekeptsecurelybytheretailer

32%

Morethanthreequarters(76%)globallyhavesomeconcernaboutenteringpersonaldetailsonlineorviain-storedevices.

Additionally,35%globallyconfirmedtheyareconcernedtheywillbecomeavictimoffinancial

andidentityfraud.Inbothcases,Mexico,AustraliaandCanadaareparticularlywaryofmodern

paymentprocesses.

WhilerespondentsfromGermanyshowedlessconcernaboutfraud,theywereamongtheleadinggroupwhenaskedaboutretailershavingaccesstotheirpersonaldataandpaymentinformation.

THESEREGIONSVOICEDCONCERNSWHENITCAMETOACOMPANY'SABILITY

TOSTOREANDPROTECTDATA:

32%

CanadaAustraliaGermanyU.S.MexicoGlobal

Securestorageofdatabytheretailer

Criminalsstealingdatafromtheretailer

Retailersaccesstopersonal

andpaymentdata

19

Morethanthreequartersworrytosomeextentaboutusingin-storedevicesbecauseofretailermistrust.Overonequarter(26%)areworriedaboutthenextuserofthedeviceseeingtheirpersonaldetails.

Only28%believein-storedevicesimprovetheconsumerexperiencewhileshopping.Thiscomesdespite39%seeingin-storedevicesastoolstoincreaseconvenienceandspeedwhenshopping.Thissuggestsmoreofamistrustinhowthetechnologiesarebeingmanagedordeployed,ratherthanthesolutions

themselves.

41%

30%

43%

45%

29%

34%

26%

39%

Ilikethespeedand

convenienceofusing

in-storedevices.

39%

28%

Thissuggeststhatmanyconsumershavenotyetwrittenoffthepotentialofdigitalinterventioninthestore.However,theyarenotcurrentlyconvincedbythe

seamlessoperabilityofthemandtheultimatesecurityoftheirdatawhileusingthem.

Retailersneedtoinvestinsolutionsthatbestmanageandmaintain

theirtechnologiestoapointwheretheyoperateatfull,seamlesspotential.Fromasecurityperspective,thisincludestheguaranteethatlostdevicescanbeeasilylocated,wipedandclearedof

consumerinformationremotelyandinreal-time.

28%

Iwouldbeworriedabout

someoneseeingmy

personaldetailsasI

enteredthem.

22%

Idonotworryaboutusingin-storedevices,asItrusttheretailer.

Inthe2023report,59%ofconsumerssaidabadexperiencewithdatasecuritywhileshoppingonlinewoulddestroytrustinabrand.

Headinginto2024,only24%havenoconcernatallaboutenteringpersonaldetailseitheronlineorviain-storedevices.

29%

44%

40%

-

36%

23%

32%

27%

.

39%

Consideringusingin-storedevicessuchasmobilecomputers,

tablets,scanners,self-checkoutkiosksandno-touchcheckout,whichofthefollowingappliestoyou?

22%

42%

26%

28%

Ibelievein-store

devicesimprovethe

consumerexperience

whenshopping.

20TECHSPECTATIONS:CONSUMERDEMANDFORDIGITALTRANSFORMATIONINRETAIL202421

DOWN

UP:

PRIORITIZING

DEVICE

MANAGEMENT

Thedeploymentofdevices

acrossPOS,self-serve,handheld

scanners,kiosksandtabletsmay

betickingtheboxof‘digitizing

thein-storeexperience’.

Whenaskedaboutthegeneralretailexperience,manyrespondentsaroundtheworldshowed

theywouldstillbereceptiveto:

Augmentedrealitytoviewitems

38%

AItopredictthebesttimestopurchaseitems

37%

37%

36%

35%

Conversationaldigitalshoppingassistants

AIandnaturallanguageduringchatbotconversations

Electronicshelflabels

Consumertechexpectationshaverisendueto

Devicesmustbeconnectedtotheentiresupply

chaintoensurewhatisbeingshowntoconsumersisaccurate.Theymustbeconsistentlymaintainedandmanagedinreal-timetoavoidconnectivity

outagesordeviceissuesduringpeakhours.Theymustbesecuredandmonitoredsoconsumerdataandconfidenceindevicesisheightened,especiallyinthecasewheredevicesarelost