Technology will transform Britain’s High Streets by 2025 but people aren’t interested in the likes of 3D printing and drone deliveries, according to new research commissioned by The BIO Agency. Eighty four per cent of the 2,100 respondents surveyed online by YouGov think the High Street as they know it will change in the next decade, while one in five believe many shops will have been shut down and replaced by Click and Collect lockers by 2020. Sixty per cent would, however, be unlikely to use digital assistants to help them shop; 52 per cent were turned off by facial recognition software; 48 per cent weren’t impressed by on-demand drone delivery, and 45 per cent gave the thumbs down to 3D printing of products.

Instead, 33 per cent would be likely to pay using their own smart device rather than visiting a till point and 30 per cent are in to using digital changing rooms to quickly see how different clothes would look on them. Other things that would make people more likely to shop in-store rather than online include being able to try the product before purchasing it, avoiding delivery charges, cheaper prices in-store versus online and knowing that they support local retailers.

Peter Veash, CEO at The BIO Agency, says: “Technology is changing every facet of modern life and the High Street is certainly not immune, but retailers should embrace technology rather than ignore it and hope for the best. What’s clear is people don’t want the kind of technology that grabs headlines – they’re more interested in convenience and improved service. That means retailers need to focus on things that will truly make a difference to in-store shopping, such as cutting queueing time by giving customers the option to pay via their own device without visiting a till point – in fact, 42 per cent of the people we surveyed said they think tills will be replaced by smart device payments within the next five years.”

Further info at: www.thebioagency.com/documents/staying-streetwise-whitepaper.pdf

Peter Veash will examine The Bio Agency's research in more depth at the 2015 Retail Systems Multi-Channel Conference, which takes place in London next week. To register to attend, visit: www.retail-systems.com/multichannel/

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