Three quarters of consumers want friendly, attentive, and present salespeople. However, 59 percent of customers reported that they had to proactively approach sales staff for information when they made their last purchases. Only 38 percent of salespeople were able to provide information about a specific product during the consultation.
At present, digital services do not play a significant role in the shopping experience of older target groups. For people under 30, however, they are extremely relevant these days: For example, 43 percent of consumers in this age group want to be able to check product availability online. Around one in three would like to be able to check in-store product availability online or order products online and then pick them up in person (Click & Collect).
More than half of those surveyed showed an interest in the use of robots at brick-and-mortar stores (55 percent). However, every other customer in the over 40 age group would refrain from using such a digital helper. Robots, if anything, are a good way of relieving the burden on salespeople. However, they cannot replace human assistants.
Customers particularly appreciate the advantages of digitization when it comes to the checkout process: 61 percent of those surveyed regard self-service checkouts, where customers scan and pay for products themselves, as an improvement in the payment process. Among those under 40, the figure is even higher at over 70 percent.
