More than two thirds of consumers think mobile technology now delivers a better shopping experience, according to new research.

A global survey of 4,000 consumers by Arlington Research for enterprise mobility and IoT solutions provider SOTI Inc found that shoppers are increasingly open to using new and emerging technologies, with one on three (31 per cent) saying they would be happy to receive their goods via delivery drones.

A total of 67.3 per cent of consumers perceive mobile technology as the most effective way to provide a faster shopping experience.

Additionally, more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of consumers want in-store staff to use mobile devices to provide a better in-store experience
With retail giants such as Amazon trialling delivery robots, 26 per cent of respondents said that would be open to using autonomous vehicles delivery.

Meanwhile there is increasing familiarity with automated store technology such as self-checkout, with nearly half of consumers (47 per cent) believing that it improves their in-store shopping experience.

Enthusiasm about innovations such as facial recognition and beacon technology is higher among males (44 per cent ) and the 18 to 34 age demographic.

However, as consumers becomes increasingly aware of data privacy issues, one-third (32.6 per cent) said they were unwilling to sacrifice personal data security to improve their in-store experience.

Shash Anand, vice president of product strategy at SOTI said: “Retailers need to implement modern strategies to stay relevant and wake up to the fact that consumers want mobile and IoT technologies which enhance and personalise the shopping experience.

“It’s essential that retailers integrate these business-critical technologies into their business to ensure they can deliver the speed, convenience and customisation that employees and customers expect. As the online and offline worlds continue to merge, the time for retailers to invest in mobility and IoT solutions is now.”

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