nt. “Technology is reshaping the relationship between consumers and businesses,” said CBA, executive GM local business banking, Claire Roberts. “As more and more customers expect to be using the latest technology in store, those businesses not adopting new payment methods will be left behind. “With recent advances in technology now available to businesses of any size, small and medium retailers have a new opportunity to transform point-of-sale and instore experiences to drive sales and encourage greater customer loyalty through repeat business.” The study also observed the impact of a negative instore experience on consumer purchasing with 72 per cent dissuaded from buying products if they could not easily be found. “Much of our daily life involves habitual, autopilot behaviour,” said Deakin University behavioural scientist, Johann Ponnampalam. “When in this mindset, we crave faster, simpler, easier service interactions and when we don’t receive them, we experience friction which often leads to us avoiding purchasing altogether.” CBA said over half of those surveyed felt retail businesses should do more to personalise their shopping experiences with ‘embracing technology’ allowing businesses to better understand their customers through data insight and marketplace investigation. “This in turn generates connections with customers that strengthen loyalty programs and with 84 per cent of Australians more likely to buy from a store they feel connected to, this is a telling trend,” said Roberts. Conversely, executive strategy director Matt Newell ,from retail consultant group, The General Store, told Inside Retail Weekly that the suggestion of digital point of sales systems “driving sales and encouraging greater loyalty” is ‘quite a stretch’. “I think most retailers would agree that the product mix, pricing strategies, instore theatre, online experiences and customer service would have a greater impact on store sales and loyalty than whether or not the business has a digital point of sale system,” said Newell. “It’s not that digital payment systems aren’t a contributor, they’re just a small one relative to other techniques available.” Newell said electronic payments have the opportunity to reduce ‘some friction’ in the shopping experience, though this would vary from retailer to retailer, with the majority already having credit card facilities. “Furthermore, the suggestion that technology is the key to ‘retail therapy success’, is quite an overreach,” said Newell. “There are many brand experiences where technology is a minor factor, not a major one – like in food retail, for example. “I think broad statements about what retailers need are pretty counter-productive because it varies greatly for every retailer. It’s better to obsess about your own customers’ needs, and then make the assessment on technology, as well as other retail techniques, based on that.” Personalisation in retail comes in many forms, asserted Newell, from fully customised products like Shoes of Prey, to ‘you might also like’ suggestions from Amazon. “But customisation is not mandatory by any stretch. In fact, customers are often drawn more to brands that show leadership and set the agenda on what is desirable, particularly in fashion and technology.”