8 in 10 consumers in the UK believe that retailers need to continuously invest in new technologies to meet changing customer demands, research from Klarna has found.

According to the study, of the 10 countries surveyed, the UK was the most keen on retailers investing in technology.

The research also surveyed shoppers in the Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the US.

The report, which had responses from more than 1,000 UK consumers, also found that nearly half of British consumers think that frictionless payments should be a retailer’s top priority both in store – 48 per cent – and online – 46 per cent.

40 per cent of millennials in the study said that online retailers need to invest in virtual and augmented reality technology such as virtual stores and dressing removes

“UK shoppers are tech savvy and their online shopping preference currently ranks ahead of all the other countries in our report,” said Viveka Söderbäck, consumer trend expert, Klarna. “Brits crave digitalisation and expect retailers to invest in new technology that gives them a better shopping experience, especially when it comes to faster checkouts and frictionless payments.”

A further 39 per cent of UK respondents said that retailers should spend money on personalised product recommendations online, while 27 per cent thought that this should be rolled out in physical stores.

Voice and face recognition technology was less popular amongst those surveyed, with only 16 per cent of respondents saying that brands should invest in this online, and even less – 12 per cent – said it should be implemented in store.

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