Shoppers welcome digital solutions at the POS

Digitalization is changing how customers and retailers interact with each other. Shoppers are responding positively to the new solutions and they also promise additional sales potential for retailers. Supermarkets, for example, are in first place when it comes to the perception of digital price information systems. In contrast, public WLAN connections leave a lot to be desired. These are the findings of the German study "Digitalization of the stationary sales area" conducted by the market research company POSpulse on behalf of the Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA). The survey of around 1,100 consumers reveals not only how consumers feel about various digital solutions, but also where they are being used and which retail sectors are falling behind in terms of digitalization.Supermarkets rely on digital solutionsDigital solutions are already widely used in price labeling. More than half of the respondents in the study are already familiar with digital price tags. Two thirds have even seen digital price information systems such as displays that can be used to scan the price. In supermarkets, 75 percent of respondents have already seen both variants. Digital price tags are also used in some electronics stores. Information systems, on the other hand, are mainly used in furniture stores and drugstores. A good 72% of consumers who have noticed a digital price information system have also used it. "This high willingness to use them is due to the intuitive way shoppers act, who are already actively familiar with their smartphones and the digital possibilities," says Carsten Szameitat, DACH CEO of the internationally organized LBMA. Digital wayfinding systems such as digital display boards and interactive information displays are also popular. One in three respondents use them and around half want to test them - if the stores offer them. Here too, supermarkets are demonstrating their innovative edge: over 70 percent of survey participants have already noticed them.Push messages with great potentialSo far, only 13% of respondents have received push notifications on their smartphone when shopping, the majority of them in the supermarket. Carsten Szameitat explains the background: "One of the reasons for this is probably the technical requirements: the user not only has to have the corresponding function, such as GPS or Bluetooth, activated on their smartphone. Many push systems work with an app - and of course this must also be installed. However, future systems and data regulations will pave the way for growth. "However, consumers' general skepticism towards push notifications is clearly not the reason for the low level of penetration. "In an earlier study, we already saw that consumers are open to this form of communication. However, the push messages must offer consumers in-store relevant added value, for example in the form of discounts and sales promotions. However, this offer must then be exclusive to the recipients of the push messages and must not be offered elsewhere in the store. Otherwise, push messages could be perceived as an unnecessary disruption."Public Wi-Fi - popular, but with poor qualityUnsurprisingly, public Wi-Fi access is particularly popular: Two out of three respondents have already noticed a public WLAN when shopping, and eight out of ten have then used it. However, there is still room for improvement in terms of quality. A third of respondents rated the network used as satisfactory, a quarter even rated it as sufficient to unsatisfactory. Electronics retailers in particular are ahead of the game here and already offer free Wi-Fi access. "Years ago, everything was done to ensure that consumers could not compare offline and online prices in-store via smartphone, but electronics retailers have now adapted to the omni-channel approach," says Dominic Blank, founder and Managing Director of POSpulse.Not very widespread: Virtual reality (VR) and digital changing roomsVirtual reality applications are becoming increasingly popular in the media, but have not yet been widely used in retail. Just under six percent of respondents have only seen such technologies at the point of sale (POS). A total of 94% have tested VR directly or would like to try it out. Sports stores are now playing a pioneering role here: a quarter of respondents have seen VR solutions in such a store. 23 percent of consumers have also noticed these technologies in furniture stores and 20 percent in electronics stores. Digital fitting rooms are another system that is still not very widespread. They were only noticed by three percent of respondents. Of these, 46% had even tried them out. "Our POS surveys show that German consumers are generally very open to new digital technologies and trends," summarizes Dominic Blank. "Retailers need to use field tests to validate which tools are right for them and offer their customers relevant added value. While some trends such as VR are only gradually arriving in retail, freely available Wi-Fi is becoming a must."