Survey: Nearly all consumers frustrated when shopping in-store

Consumers don’t have much patience when shopping in stores.

That is according to a report by Omnico, which found that 92% of U.S. shoppers get frustrated when shopping in a store, with 86% annoyed at waiting for a refund and 52% angry about waiting to pay. And 49% are ready to boil over if they are unable to find what they want.

Interestingly, Alaskans are more likely to get hot under the collar about waiting to pay (67%), than for example, New Yorkers (57%), Nebraskans and Virginians (50%), or Montanans (36%), the report found.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) say technology will make shopping easier. Eighty-six percent want to use scan and pay cell phone or tablet apps so they can skip lines and save time, while 82% are ready to use kiosks to make in store payments quicker and simpler. More than half (52%) say enabling payments at kiosks will improve their experience.

“Our research shows that huge numbers of U.S. consumers experience deep frustrations when shopping in a store” said Mel Taylor, CEO, Omnico. “It’s obvious they know that advanced digital technology can resolve almost all of these problems to make their shopping enjoyable and easy again. The key will be the integration of current legacy POS systems with newer digital technology that enables deployment of scan and pay apps, for example, or centralizes refund management, without the need to rip and replace what’s already there.”

The "Omnico US Retail Research" report explored shopping frustrations of 2,008 consumers across the US, along with their attitudes to technology. In other findings:

•Almost seven-in-ten (69%) shoppers will use loyalty programs integrated into an app so users can collect and spend points or rewards.

•Fifty-one percent  are ready to use a cell phone app or a kiosk to order food and drinks in advance when they on a shopping trip.