Long checkout lines can turn a pleasant shopping experience into a bad one, but there is a way to shorten wait times with Digimarc’s new software.
An online study conducted by Harris Poll and commissioned by Digimarc Corp. has revealed that 88% of U.S. adults want their store checkout experience to be faster.
For half of those in the study, slow checkout speeds and long lines are their top grievances. In order to boost shopper satisfaction, Digimarc has developed effective means to address inefficient checkout processes and other areas of opportunity revealed in the survey.
“Checkout is the last opportunity a retailer has to make a positive impression on a shopper,” said Larry Logan, chief marketing officer, Digimarc. “Asking customers to endure a lengthy wait to process and pay for their order can spoil what may have otherwise been an enjoyable shopping experience. Retail leaders can make critical gains in perceived value, customer satisfaction and loyalty by selecting Digimarc Barcode to reduce scanning inefficiences and enable faster checkout speeds.”
Adding to a shopper’s dissapointment upon checkout is a lack of quality human interaction and perceived gratitude. A majority (61%) agree that clerks focus most on scanning items and less on finding out if they’re satisfied. And a large group (30%) say they feel like a burden to the clerk and other customers when they have a full cart at a grocery store.
The survey also suggested that self-checkout (which nearly three quarters have avoided) could be more appealing if technical problems were reduced. Of those who avoid self-checkout, 43% cited technical or barcode scanning difficulties as reasons they avoid the self-checkout lane.
Digimarc Barcode allows retailers and brands to encode existing barcode data invisibly and repeatedly over the surface of packages and labels, dramatically improving ease, reliability, and speed of scanning by point of sale (POS) scanners, smartphones, tablets and other devices equipped with Digimarc software. With the entire package scannable, POS systems can quickly identify the product regardless of how the cashier orients the item in relation to the reader, paving the way for shorter lines, better customer service and improved margins.
The survey also showed that many consumers would like to use smartphones to scan packaging to get additional product information. This is consistent with the findings from a recent Cisco Research Report showing that 73% of shoppers said they would scan products for special, customized offers and promotions in the store.
Digimarc Barcodes deliver this capability, enabling retailers and brands to engage with shoppers. Using the free Digimarc Discover mobile application (iOS/Android) or any one of the increasing number of Digimarc-enabled mobile applications on their smartphones and tablets, shoppers can scan and save recipes and shopping lists as well as learn more about products and redeem special offers. For retailers and mobile app developers, Digimarc’s scanner software development kit (SDK) provides the tools to deliver faster, more accurate scanning and support for multiple mobile engagement approaches. The SDK enables support for 1-dimensional barcode, 2-dimensional barcode, QR code and Digimarc Barcode recognition. A recent DigitasLBi Connected Commerce study confirmed smartphone use in the store is on the rise, increasing from 72% in 2014 to 85% in 2015.