Demand for new online experiences forcing retailers to deploy latest technologies: Capgemini

The demand for new online experience is pushing retailers to deploy latest technologies, says a new survey from information technology services firm Capgemini.

Capgemini’s report comes days ahead of the Black Friday shopping season.

Young shoppers,  aged between 18 and 34, are more likely to use new technologies such as automated checkouts (23% vs 16% on average among all shoppers), mobile wallet payments (21% vs 12% on average),  the French IT giant said in a statement.

The survey also found that the youngsters were also looking for technologies within physical stores like virtual reality mirrors (22% vs 15% on average) apart from exploring new methods of delivery including drones or in-car delivery (16% compared to 10% on average).

The share of e-commerce across Western Europe and the US is estimated to be around 10%, though growing much faster than the overall retail sales growth. Online retailers, which offer access to multiple different brands, are also set to receive sizeable shares of festive budgets this year with 32% planning to spend most of their money on these sites, the survey said.

“Technology can help deliver the quality, cost and range that all consumer groups want, but retailers must think carefully about how they balance new investments with meeting the expectations of a younger generation, while keeping low prices front of mind too," said Kees Jacobs, vice president, global consumer products and retail sector at Capgemini.

Voice-based shopping is also likely to grow in the future.

With the popularity of Amazon's Alexa, Google Home and Apple Siri, consumers are willing to do purchases using these platforms if they felt the experience would be secure, said a quarter of all those people surveyed.

Capgemini said that technology-driven convenience is increasingly becoming key to improving the shopping experience. However, retailers need to adapt to local market demand.

About 31 % of consumers in Spain are expecting innovative technology in-store compared to 18% in France. Another trend this season is the ability to use mobile wallet payment for US consumers (17%); and self-service checkouts in the UK (15%).

The survey was conducted online by YouGov for Capgemini with 7,755 adults across multiple Western countries participating, of which 6,718 are expected to shop for the holidays.