The FINANCIAL — On March 22 Oracle announced the findings of new research that examines consumer attitudes to new technologies and how their implementation will shape consumer behavior in the years to come.
Insights from the Oracle Retail 2025 study highlight that consumers are most willing to engage brands with new technology if they feel that they are in control of their experience.
“Consumers clearly indicated that they have a conservative appetite for retail techologies that requires deep personal data and make decisions on their behalf,” said Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager at Oracle Retail and Oracle Hospitality. “This signals brands to focus on building a strong foundation to win trust. Warm attitudes toward utilizing virtual reality and receiving recommendations for custom-made accessories produced with 3D printing points to consumers’ willingness to adopt new technologies if they are in control of their experience.”
The Retail 2025 Report results provide a benchmark for where consumers are on the retail technology adoption lifecycle and the impact on retail in the next eight years. The Retail 2025 Report polled 709 consumers in February 2017.
Smart Gets Smarter
AI, VR and IoT present the opportunity to better anticipate consumers’ next purchase. However, establishing a strong foundation of trust is critical to success when rolling out new experiences to consumers. If brands over step the reaction can be visceral.
64 percent of respondents liked the option of using virtual reality to navigate a personalized in-store experience and having a hand-picked wardrobe to try on in-store
58 percent of consumers indicated a positive attitude toward the idea of having their grocer suggest a shopping list for their approval based on purchase history, social and environmental data
54 percent of respondents indicated that having a grocer automatically charge and ship items based on purchase history, social and environmental data was invasive
Fast Gets Fierce
Velocity in fashion is critical and it will only get faster. 3D printing and drone deliver will accelerate the product design to consumer process from months, to days and eventually hours.
67 percent of consumers like the option of near real-time delivery to their doorstep by drones
64 percent of consumers responded favorably to the concept having a retailer suggest a custom-made accessory for them produced with 3D printing
57 percent of consumers find apparel recommendations from robots based on their social media profile invasive
Personalization Gets Perfected
Consumers are wary about volunteering data necessary for personalization but still look for a tailored experience, reinforcing the need for stronger brand relationships. On the flipside; there is a clear difference in consumer expectation for retailers to make data available and customize information about components, origin and recalls to their specific buying patterns.
54 percent of respondents viewed the concept of linking their wearable activity tracker to their pharmacy so they can suggest products to meet specific health and wellness needs as favorable
78 percent favor the option of having detailed information about product components (e.g., cotton, spandex, etc) and their origin prior to purchase
46 percent of respondents indicated that receiving real-time alerts on current product recalls, and time since last recall by a manufacturer, based on previous purchase history would improve their experience
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