Magazines Archives - 2011 Apr

Consumers gravitating towards mobile POS checkout, says study
Story 8 - Retail Technology

CONSUMERS are starting to come around to using mobile POS to expedite their in-store checkout process, a recent report commissioned by highperformance hardware manufacturer Honeywell Scanning & Mobility (an affiliate of Honeywell International), revealed.

While still a relatively new technology that is making inroads into the retail store environment, about 13% of early adopters — who make up 72% of respondents that have been offered to use the mobile POS checkout — have checked out using a mobile POS system, with half of them agreeing that the checkout process is shortened, and about 43% stating that paperless receipts are “a good idea”.

“We surveyed end-users to understand how they were thinking about using mobile POS and whether they were interested in using mobile technology in retailing,” John Waldron, vice-president of worldwide marketing at Honeywell Scanning & Mobility, told RETAIL ASIA.

“And the summary was very simple and clear: consumers are nearly twice as likely and willing now to use mobile technology than they were a year ago. We are pleased to see such a dramatic increase in people’s willingness to adopt mobile technology through their shopping experience,” he continued.

The study, conducted by Harris Interactive last December, also identified that one in five (or about 17% of respondents) used their credit card to make purchases at the retail store, and would be interested in testing out a mobile POS system if offered.

Also, according to global research group The Nielsen Company, smartphone adoption among consumers nearly doubled from 2008 to 2009, boosting the smartphone share in the mobile-phone market from 47% to 59%.

“The central idea is that consumers are becoming much more willing to use mobile technology. Specifically and predominantly, smartphones are really changing the way people shop and interact with stores and retailers. It doesn’t matter which country you go to, consumers, especially the younger generation, are using their phones to find information about the things they’re shopping for, sometimes ... even buying items from their phones while they’re standing in the store,” he observed.

Waldron added that retailers too are jumping on the mobile technology bandwagon, despite the slow uptake. He pointed out that retailers are starting to transition from traditional UPC linear bar codes to more sophisticated 2D bar codes to capture more data, such as merchandise and customer information, in a smaller amount of space.

Furthermore, Waldron stated that the company’s handheld area-imaging scanner, the Xenon 1900, has been “wildly successful”. Equipped with a custom sensor that captures a variety of barcode symbologies and digital images, the Xenon 1900, which Waldron revealed incorporates the sixth-generation of an imaging system pioneered by Honeywell about 15 years earlier, is packed in an ergonomic yet reliable design that not only saves space, but also minimises downtime, ensuring an easier transition into the retail store environment. “We launched it in early 2010, and we’re just overwhelmed by how successful it is, especially in retailing,” he maintained. ra

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