The Do-It-Myself Generation | NACS Online

By | May 1, 2015

Newest survey on Millennials shows almost a quarter prefer self-service kiosks to interacting with cashiers.

Source: www.nacsonline.com

May 1, 2015

CHICAGO – A new survey released by location-based mobile platform Retale showed that 20% of Millennial shoppers don’t like interacting with cashiers at checkout. The survey examined consumer self-service checkout adoption and preferences among brick-and-mortar retailers, evaluating convenience, challenges and desired improvements.

Highlights of the survey include:

  • 91% of Millennials have used a self-service kiosk versus 81% of those 35 and older.
  • 33% of consumers overall find that self-checkout is actually inconvenient, with scanning items the hardest part.
  • 26% of Millennials want to use mobile devices (including smartwatches) at self-service kiosks.

Of the 85% of consumers who have used self-service kiosks, the most popular reasons for doing so were: “I have a limited number of items” (72%); “there was no line” (55%); “I prefer to keep my transactions and financial information private” (13%); and “I don’t like interacting with cashiers” (12%). Among Millennials, “I don’t like interacting with cashiers” was eight percentage points higher than the average (20%).

Two-thirds (67%) of all respondents said that self-service kiosks are convenient versus 33% inconvenient. Of the 67%, however, 41% said that, despite its convenience, the experience “could be a lot better.”

Across all respondents, 43% say that they often need help from an associate when using self-service checkout. Millennials were less likely to need support (37%) compared to older customers (47%).

The top challenges in using self-service kiosks include: scanning items (35%), entering coupons (24%), understanding the service screen (16%), paying with cash (15%) and entering product codes (14%).

Despite current self-service checkout limitations, nearly half of all respondents (49%) would like to see more kiosks at every retail location to help streamline the checkout process. At the same time, as the number of kiosks increases, a majority of respondents (53%) want at least one store employee overseeing kiosks to ensure devices are used smoothly.

When asked about the retailers that should add more self-service kiosks, 49% picked mass merchandisers, followed by supermarkets (46%), drugstores (42%), convenience stores (27%), department stores (24%) and specialty stores (24%).
Also, as technology advances, 20% of those surveyed wish to have the option to pay via a mobile phone or smartwatch at each kiosk. Among Millennials, 26% want to be able to pay at self-service kiosks using mobile devices versus 16% for those over 34.

“Almost a quarter of all Millennials use self-service kiosks to avoid any sort of interaction with cashiers,” said Pat Dermody, president of Retale. “As a result, there is a growing demand for more automation and innovation throughout the checkout experience, via integrations with smartphones, wearables and other mobile devices. This will add to the convenience factor that already appears to be key to the experience.”

Author: Staff Writer

Craig Keefner is the editor and author for Kiosk Association and kiosk industry. With over 30 years in the industry and experience in large and small kiosk solutions, Craig is widely considered to be an expert in the field. Major kiosk projects for him include Verizon Bill Pay kiosk and hundreds of others.