Much in the way Starbucks employs its merchant mobile wallet to expedite the checkout flow and gain insight into customer buying habits, retailers are exploring how best to incorporate the personal handheld computers (smartphones) carried by more and more of use in our daily as we navigate of days.
IKEA leverages mobile to alleviate customer pain points rather than simply create something “cool,” and through its trial checkout feature, shoppers are able to check out in a much more convenient manner.
Mercator Advisory Group anticipates the natural progression of the self-scanning will be to the payment step, with the consumers’ mobile device generating an “eReceipt” for the transaction, and thereby further facilitating an expedited furnishing shopping experience. Combined with RFID for verification, self-scanning could be employed in super markets and convenience stores to expedite checkout proceedings.
Overview by Joseph Walent, Senior Analyst, Emerging Technologies at Mercator Advisory Group
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