Most retailers assume consumers want to implement technology into their shopping experiences, but executives from Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) executives wanted proof. And they got it.
By surveying 2,000 shoppers from the United States and the United Kingdom, researchers discovered that opportunities existed to increase sales by using "mashups," according to Jon Stine, director of ISBG. He said the mashup experience combines Web-like capabilities with the shopping experience in stores.
For example, more than half of the study's respondents said they would be interested in seeing product-price comparisons, and reading personalized recommendations and peer reviews via touch screen at the shelf while they shop in stores.
"Consumers trust those peer reviews more than a salesman in the store who is making money from the sale," Stine said this week at the National Retail Federation BIG Show in New York City. "This brings those reviews to the shelf."
According to the study, shoppers use technology for a variety of reasons, but the most popular uses were to find the best price, save time and find the highest-quality products.
Allowing consumers to use technologies, such as interactive digital displays, video assistants, social networking technologies and Wi-Fi networks, in stores is key to increasing sales, Stine said.
