The future of in-store technology

This paper introduces a conceptual framework for understanding new and futuristic in-store technology infusions. First, we develop a 2×2 typology of different innovative and futuristic technologies focusing on their level of convenience and social presence for the consumer. Next, we offer a series of propositions based on the idea that convenience and social presence can trigger vividness by enhancing consumer involvement, imagery, and elaboration, which ultimately leads to enhanced sales. Finally, the paper then focuses on four moderating areas—consumer traits, product/service dimensions, mental models and social networks—to understand how they might impact the vividness experienced via the technology.

Introduction
We are amid a technological retail revolution. There are an increasing number of technologies available to retailers and service providers that have the potential to enhance both their operations and the experience they can provide customers. Companies that embrace the opportunities and experiment with the technologies, to determine which technologies best enhance operational efficiency and which best enhance the customer experience, are likely to be the most successful. In this paper, we focus on how these new and futuristic in-store technologies can impact the customer experience.

The in-store experience is part of the customer journey (Lemon and Verhoef 2016) and technologies can serve as important touch points to customers, as well as assist and augment frontline employee (FLE) tasks. These new and futuristic technologies can change the customer experience by making the shopping experience more convenient, changing how the customer shops, and/or changing their interactions with FLEs. While companies continually implement new technologies, the expectations customers come to hold regarding those technologies evolve. Many technologies that were the delighters of yesterday have become the satisfiers of today. For example, today’s customers assume an integrated omni-channel experience where they can order online and pick up in the store. Another satisfier of today is having free Wi-Fi in the store.

But, for retailers to stand out and be on the cutting edge, they must carefully consider what will delight customers. In today’s socially connected world, we anticipate that many consumers seek social engagement and interactive experiences on platforms that facilitate a sense of connection (Hyder 2014; Pew Research Center 2010; Redmond 2017). Consumers have a strong desire for social presence (Donald 1991, Granovetter 1985). Social presence means the felt presence of others. It does not mean that someone else must be physically present. Social presence might come via reading posts from other customers about the product/service on social media or video-chatting with a friend while shopping in the store.

Recognizing that customers desire a convenient, easy, frictionless experience, as well as the desire for social presence allows retailers to experiment and test new technologies which will enhance the customer experience in the store on these dimensions. For example, Amazon Go stores allow consumers to simply pick up items without needing to stop at the check-out (AI and cameras capture the purchase and charge the consumer); thus, enhancing convenience. Other retailers and service providers focus on enhancing the felt social presence. For example, H&M has installed voice interactive mirrors in their New York City flagship store. Those mirrors “wake up” when someone looks at it long enough and offers selfies, style advice, and discounts.

In this research, we create a typology of different innovative and futuristic technologies focusing on their level of convenience and social presence for the consumer. Convenience signifies the reduced time and effort consumers must exert to buy or use products and services, due to the assistance of technology (Berry et al. 2002). Social presence refers to the degree to which the technology causes consumers to sense that they are in the presence of others (van Doorn et al. 2017), which might result from interactions with the machine itself (e.g., robots) (Heerink et al. 2010; van Doorn et al. 2017), human connections supported by the technology (Zhu, Benbasat and Jiang 2010) (e.g., social media posts, collaborative online shopping), or some technology feature that humanizes the brand (Schroll et al. 2018). Using high and low levels of convenience and social presence, we build a 2×2-typology. This typology is derived based on interviews with key informants in the retail sector and triangulated with existing literature. Interviews took place on the phone and ranged from 30 to 45 min. The seven interview respondents were from the following companies: PTC (Senior Director), Clas Ohlson (Key Account Manager), H&M (Business Development Project Manager), Ombori Group (CEO), AB Processverkstad 17 (Retail Management Consultant), Coop (Head of Insights, Analytics, and Intelligence), and ICA Gruppen (Head of ICAx). Respondents spoke of retail technologies they created, supplied, beta tested, or used (e.g., in a flagship store) which helped inform the dimensions of our typology. It is important to note that although we present the quadrants as high and low levels of convenience and social presence, each of these dimensions vary on a continuum with no definitive cut-off point.

After introducing this typology, we then offer a series of propositions based on the idea that convenience and social presence have the potential to make the product experience more vivid to customers—due to enhanced consumer involvement, imagery, and/or elaboration. This vividness, in turn, is expected to increase the likelihood of a consumer purchasing the product/service (Nisbett and Ross 1980). We also offer propositions regarding four moderating areas—consumer traits, product/service dimensions, mental models and social networks.

This research thus offers three significant contributions. First, our proposed in-store technology infusion typology details specific combinations of technology-enabled convenience and social presence and locates several current and emerging technologies within this typology. Second, we outline a conceptual framework to link in-store technology infusion with desirable retailer and service provider outcomes through mechanisms that reflect vividness theory, including involvement, imagery, and elaboration. This framework also features four moderators that can enhance the impact of in-store technology infusion on purchase intentions: consumer traits, product/service dimensions, mental models, and social networks. Third, we offer several propositions regarding the impact of new and futuristic in-store technology infusion, especially when it evokes high levels of convenience and social presence. These propositions in turn constitute an agenda for further research.

Typology of new and futuristic in-store technology infusion
In building our typology of new technologies (see Fig. 1), we focus on two dimensions from the consumer perspective—convenience and social presence. Additionally, we predominantly focus on how in-store technology touchpoints can impact the customer journey (Lemon and Verhoef 2016). This is important because 90% of retail sales continue to take place in brick-and-mortar stores; online sales account for less than 10% of total retail sales (Danziger 2017). To develop a more complete understanding of convenience and social presence, we first discuss existing literature related to these factors.