Member Article

London consumers demand Amazon-style tech from high street retailers

Consumers in the capital are bemoaning the relatively low-tech approach by high-street retailers and have called for more digital-centric innovations from traditional bricks and mortar stores in order to keep pace with online rivals.

According to research commissioned by Fujitsu, 53% of London shoppers surveyed said that they had experienced poor in-store technology on the high street, and that 67% of them had chosen to buy a product from a chosen store due to the better in-store technology experience.

Furthermore, the report revealed that ecommerce giants such as Ebay and Amazon would be Londoners’ go to retailers if they had a high-street presence, with 74% saying they would trust the online giants to provide a more advanced tech experience than their bricks and mortar rivals.

Services such as click and collect, stock checking and in-app services have become increasingly ubiquitous at some of the UK’s bigger retailers, but it is clear that the innovations are not quite matching the pace of change at the online giants.

In particular, respondents identified personalised offers sent when they visited a store (39%), smart mirrors (35%) and Internet-of-Things-powered deliveries to their car (24%) as the technologies they would most like to see retailers introduce.

Rupal Karia, Managing Director at Retail and Hospitality for Fujitsu UK & Ireland said that, while the technological revolution was well underway, retailers still had to do more to keep up with the pace of change.

He commented: “Today the next wave of digital disruption is happening in-store. Ecommerce has altered our expectations of the high street and we now expect physical channels to reflect digital ones and be engaging, personalised and hassle-free.

“The digital pace of change is faster than ever. Consumers will embrace retailers who can give them the experience they want, before they know they want it. The message is clear: consumers are prepared to spend more with the retailers that deliver digital, and leave those that don’t.”

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