Innovation in the Spanish retail sector: Analyzing customers' acceptance of a Scan and Go tool

Abstract

Smart retail technologies are making their way into stores at a fast pace, as managers identify them as a great opportunity to save costs and attract clients into their shopping establishments. However, customers’ acceptance of such innovations cannot be taken for granted. Precisely, managers’ concerns about their clients’ perception of in-store innovations are one of the main obstacles for the spread of smart retail technologies. In this article, the results of a survey completed by 2,010 customers concerning the introduction in the Spanish retail sector of a self-checkout system known as Scan and Go are analyzed. This tool allows customers to use their smartphones to scan the desired products, which are automatically added to their tab. In order to finish the purchase and leave the store, clients must simply show a code generated by the app to an employee. The paper analyzes and discusses the results of the survey, mainly the respondents’ usage intention of the tool, focusing on aspects such as determining factors discussed in the literature, consumption habits and socio-economic background, and studying their influence on customer acceptance. Evidence of a positive response from customers to the introduction of the Scan and Go tool in Spanish retail establishments is found, as well as a target customer profile which can serve as a starting market segment for the deployment of the system.

Las tecnologías de venta inteligentes están cada vez más presentes en las tiendas físicas, pero los gerentes de muchos puntos de venta siguen teniendo dudas acerca de su aceptación por parte de los consumidores. En este artículo se presentan los resultados de una encuesta administrada a 2,010 clientes acerca de la introducción de un sistema de auto-pago denominado Scan and Go en tiendas españolas y se analiza el impacto de diversos factores y hábitos de consumo en la aceptación de la tecnología. Además, se identifica una respuesta positiva por parte de los usuarios españoles y se determina un perfil de cliente objetivo.