Consumers Resist Newer Retail Technology

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Retailers are in constant pursuit of innovations that ostensibly make shopping easier or stickier to capture consumers’ loyalty. Some of these innovations aim to solve consumers’ pain points, like knowing what size clothing to order online, and some are more in pursuit of appearing like a cutting edge brand, like metaverse shopping experiences. Shoppers’ lagging adoption of some of the newer available technology suggests that its value proposition isn’t all that compelling, or that there are barriers to usage. 

A recent Morning Consult survey asked shoppers to evaluate a range of commonplace to novel tech-enhanced retail and e-commerce experiences in order to discover what’s actually helpful to them, and what’s a shiny object. 

Consumers are largely aware of novel retail tech, but slow to adopt it

Self-checkout and retail mobile apps are nothing new, and have strong consumer adoption. About two-thirds (68%) of consumers said they used self-checkout just within the last month. As much as people gripe about the technology, and even as some retailers are pulling away from it, it’s not going anywhere. 

Nearly half (48%) of shoppers have gone online to check inventory before driving to a store, or to save a trip when their desired item is out of stock. Nearly as many (44%) have used a customer service chatbot for support. All of these options save time or improve convenience, even if they’re imperfect solutions. 

Newer tech of course sees lower utilization for many reasons — chiefly time to adoption — but the large gaps between awareness and usage are concerning for technology that promises to solve real consumer pain points, like ensuring you’re ordering the right size when buying clothes and shoes online or getting recommendations on which winter coat to buy. 

Of course, some consumers pick up new tech faster than others. Self-described early adopters, or those who agree with the statement “I am generally among the first to try new technologies,” are more likely to have tried all of the tech tested. In particular, they’re much more likely to say they’ve used a virtual shopping assistant (+30 percentage points) or voice recognition tech to place an order (+28 points).

When asked why they have not tried a type of retail technology, consumers’ overwhelming answer was “I don’t want to.” They just don't see the appeal, and they aren’t a small cohort. These shoppers comprise about one-third to one-half of respondents across the types of technology tested. Availability was the second most common barrier to utilization: one-third of shoppers say they haven’t seen self-scanning shopping carts, and 26% haven’t seen measurement tools to help determine clothing size. Neither of these tools have particularly widespread adoption by retailers, so presumably these shoppers are open to giving it a try if their preferred stores launch the tech.  

Metaverse shopping and clothing size tools see the fewest repeat users

In order for a shopper to not only try a new technology once but become a repeat user, the tech needs to offer a net positive benefit to the shopping experience. All of the tech evaluated in our survey saw that at least two-thirds of users would try it again, but metaverse shopping was most likely to be a one-and-done experience. 

Clothing size estimators are a different breed, because reducing bracketing behavior, where shoppers order multiple sizes of the same clothing item and return what does not fit, is both annoying for shoppers and expensive for retailers who have to manage the reverse logistics of returns. Inconsistent sizing practices, often within the same brand, are to blame, but the next best option should be helping shoppers predict their size. Some apps measure your body using a smartphone camera, others will quiz shoppers on their sizes at other brands, but low accuracy plagues these solutions. 

Repeat usage is notably higher for augmented reality utilities and metaverse shopping among early adopters, who are likely to use more applications of this tech and have greater familiarity, so aren’t as encumbered by the learning curve. 

Shoppers’ principal dislike for all types of retail technology except for self-checkout was a lack of trust in the accuracy of the tools. This lack of trust was most prevalent for body measurement tools (27%), the metaverse (20%), augmented reality (20%), voice tech (19%) and smart shopping carts (19%). One-fifth (21%) of users reported encountering errors with self checkout. Other complaints included the tech being slow or not intuitive. 

Most shoppers rate retail tech as helpful, though chatbots are deemed the most annoying

In order for consumers to adopt new retail tech it needs to have a net benefit, like saving them time or money. The tech deemed most helpful by consumers are mobile apps, which store payment and loyalty card information for e-commerce and in-store usage. Mobile apps are closely followed by local inventory lookup tools. While not always perfectly accurate, these tools help shoppers decide if it’s worth their time to head to a store to pick up an item in person.

On the other hand, customer service chatbots were rated most annoying. Most people can recall at least one instance of a chatbot’s inability to understand or help with an issue, though these tools are improving with time. 

For retailers and consumer brands, it’s tempting to chase the latest tech to appear to be relevant and ahead of the curve in consumers’ eyes. It’s imperative though to keep the consumer at the center of these investment decisions, and cumbersome technology with poor results is worse than no technology at all. After the 2023 generative AI boom brands were eager to add an AI sticker to their websites, but AI isn’t valuable just because it’s AI, it’s valuable when it saves people time and makes their shopping experience better and decisions easier.