Frontline Retail Revealed: Tech Pains and Gains

As the saying goes, the devil is in the detail. And the dynamic and variable world of retail demands attention to it. From a worker’s standpoint, that detail exists in daily tasks and their conditions.

When implementing store technology, retailers often overlook the crucial details of a worker’s daily experience. Challenging conditions, repetitive scanning and outdated devices can lead to frustration and inefficiency.

With one in five associates saying their current tech is unhelpful for their work and hinders customer experience, it validates our core beliefs. Seamless data capture and access are essential for associate productivity, enhanced customer experience, and smarter decisions throughout a working day.

This report sheds light on the area. Focusing on store associates’ tech pains and gains to guide decisions on what technology will make the most significant difference to in-store experiences for workers and customers, and ultimately, retail performance.

Research Methodology

Report 1 in our Frontline Retail Revealed series examined store associate attitudes to technology and how they impact satisfaction, retention, and empowerment. The report uncovered some key points:

• 68% said devices were an important factor in choosing to stay in their role
• 67% value instant access to information as a device feature
• 40% feel their employers aren’t prioritizing investment in their tech needs

This data paints a clear picture: an expectation gap exists regarding the tools associates use daily. While many appreciate their current devices, many feel their needs aren’t fully met and their employers should do more.

The onus falls on retailers to bridge this expectation gap if they want to be an employer of choice.

This gap is most present in a critical area: data capture.

This report explores what frustrates associates during data capture workflows, what aids them, and their desires for future technology – all to help retailers address the expectation gap and empower their frontline workforce to improve productivity and customer experience.

Device Top Frustrations

To uncover where store associates believe their current technology is letting them down, we asked them about their frustrations with their current devices.

Responses highlight two main areas that frustrate associates:

• Issues with the device itself that affect productivity – such as battery life, crashing and reboot time.
• Issues with the hardware and software needed to fulfill tasks – such as poor scanning performance and user experience.

Interestingly, battery life was the clear top frustration. It renders associates unable to do tasks and productivity suffers when associates have to swap for a fully charged device or wait for charging.

Adjustable elements such as app user-friendliness (25% top 3) and scanning performance (34% top 3) received significant attention from respondents.

Retailers can improve these areas through integrations and software updates rather than investing in new hardware.

Scanning Pain Points

Scanning speed and accuracy were well referenced in the section above, but those pain points can have many layers and depend on many factors.

The conditions store associates scan in, what they scan, and how often they scan can vary by retailer and workflow.

To dig deeper into scanning performance, we asked associates what annoys them the most when carrying out scanning tasks.

Responses were evenly distributed with even the lowest-ranked factor (scanning accuracy), receiving a top 3 rank from 31% of respondents.

Performance-related issues, including slow scanning speed and inability to scan at a distance or in low light, made up two of the top three pain points. Challenging conditions in stores are slowing down scanning and frustrating workers – lowering their productivity.

The results indicate that retailers should look to three areas to reduce scanning pain points:

• First, get the basics right. Ensure good scanning performance in real-world retail conditions such as low light or difficult angles.
• Second, scan smarter. Introduce multi-barcode scanning and other forms of data capture.
• Third, focus on the user experience. Optimizing hardware and app user interfaces makes scanning easier and more intuitive.

Scandit Advice - Test for the Conditions

Store associates operate across a diverse range of stores, tasks and workflows – and therefore, the conditions under which scanning takes place also vary.

In addition to this, differences in barcode type, size, and location can make the seemingly simple task of scanning challenging.

Technology for the real world is needed, including the length of shifts, the type of work, and the conditions under which work is undertaken. For example, in a warehouse, lighting could be better and with boxes and pallets on the move, barcodes can become damaged and difficult to read.

Deploying smart data capture on existing hardware allows associates to adapt to different work environments and solves the reality of how they interact with physical products.

Everyone wants to be good at their job; it’s no different for store associates. But in today’s retail world, where demands vary and are constantly changing, technology has a crucial role in how good they can be.

Understanding the capabilities store associates crave is essential to create a truly customer-centric environment and drive peak productivity.

This section delves into the features they desire most during scanning tasks – features that will make a tangible difference in their daily lives.

Scanning Task Improvement

The issue of scanning in challenging conditions raised in section 1 is repeated here. More reliable scanning in poor lighting, at a distance, or on damaged codes ranked as the number one desired factor.

Multiple barcode scanning, augmented reality (AR) task guidance and ID scanning were recognized for reducing manual effort and tedious tasks and enhancing store associate productivity.

Job Performance Enhancement

The technology options for retailers to boost store performance seem endless. It’s difficult for retailers to evaluate them all and prioritize investment.

So in addition to scanning capabilities, we asked store associates what other technologies they thought would help them do their job better.

Despite the presence of more hyped or eye-catching technologies, such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality, advanced scanning capabilities claimed the top two spots.

Store associates see more value in scanning-related technologies that reduce manual data entry and tedious tasks throughout their shifts.

This suggests data capture is core to their working day and improvements here greatly impact store operational efficiency.

Scandit Advice - Focus On the Easy Wins

Retailers constantly seek ways to improve operational efficiency and enhance the in-store customer experience.

But sometimes, the biggest gains lie in the simplest solutions with broad applications today.

Implementing new capabilities such as multi-barcode and ID scanning on existing devices significantly speeds up data capture workflows, especially for inventory management and customer-facing tasks.

At the crux of it, retailers want productive workers who keep shelves stocked and have time to help customers in store. Retailers can reap the rewards right now by picking the low-hanging fruit of reducing the time spent on manual scanning tasks. Updating device software is a great way to achieve this. It is a progressive way to innovate without large capital expenditure.

A store associate’s day has become increasingly varied in recent years. With e-commerce accelerating in most sectors, tasks like order picking and assembly have increased in volume alongside more traditional ones like shelf management.

Worker productivity and efficiency are key to whether or not a business is profitable, exacerbated in sub-verticals with tight margins like grocery.

We asked associates how much their devices help or hinder their productivity in various tasks.

Across store operations, order fulfillment and customer assistance tasks, it is clear that associates require their devices to make them more productive.

While the data paints a positive picture, some concerning data emerges for retailers.

Report 1 highlighted that 40% of associates feel their technology needs are ignored. This is particularly concerning given the data on how crucial devices are for all tasks. Additionally, 2 out of 10 associates reported devices to be unhelpful or have no impact on key tasks, indicating a need for retailers to address the technology gap between perception and reality.

Scandit Advice - Solve the Problem Areas

Technology is crucial in associate satisfaction and operational effectiveness, but maximizing performance requires a holistic approach. The store layout, workflows, and shelf organization are vital in how well associates leverage their devices.

Add to that the scanning limitations of devices in challenging conditions (as discussed in section 1), and you have a recipe for the unhelpfulness that store associates feel.

At Scandit, with experience working with over 2,000 global organizations, we’ve seen and helped the best-performing retailers ensure associate effectiveness.

They dive deep into problem areas, analyzing workflows and identifying capability gaps. By actively listening to associates, they pinpoint whether the issue is a tweakable process, a missing device feature, or both.

Deploying new capabilities on existing devices can transform an ‘unhelpful’ tool into a powerful performance booster.

Loyalty matters in retail. Predictable revenue, reduced price sensitivity, and more referrals come from loyal customers. To achieve loyalty – customer service is key.

And key to customer service is the knowledge and skills of store associates.

However, as explored in report 1, with 27% of store associates ranking it as a top 3 reason to leave, they perceive customers as becoming more demanding.

This section explores how these demands, coupled with the frustrations associates face with their devices negatively impact customer experience and ultimately, customer loyalty.

Technology Frustrations When Dealing with Customers

The top frustrations cited by associates in this question all relate to needing more information at hand to answer a question or find something out, leaving them unable to help the customer confidently.

Not only are these frustrating for associates, but the consequences of these limitations also annoy customers. Having to wait around or not having your questions answered are major detractors of in-store experience that can result in lost sales and impact loyalty.

Device Impact on Customer Experience

To get an overall perspective, we asked store associates if their device actively helps or hinders their ability to deliver a better customer experience.

61% of store associates said it improves their ability to deliver better customer experiences. But almost one quarter (22%) say it hinders their ability, with the remaining 17% saying it has no impact.

The previous section gives us insight into where devices are falling short – a gap exists between the data store associates can access and how meaningful it is.

Time to Focus on Customers

Another way to improve customer experience is to ensure store associates are freed from spending most of their time on tedious (but essential) tasks like inventory counting and can better focus on assisting customers instead.

We asked them to what extent they agreed with the statement that their device plays a part in reducing manual or repetitive tasks so they could spend more time with customers.

Retailers are getting the technology right for some basic tasks, but it is letting store associates down regarding customer service. They have the time to focus on them but a lack of information still frustrates workers and customers.

Scandit Advice - Devices Do Impact Customer Loyalty

Retailers could be driving customers away by providing a poor experience due to inadequate technology. The devices used don’t have the desired impact on customer experience for many associates.

Answering basic questions, such as item availability in different colors or sizes, or more complex ones, such as reserving items in other stores, should be table stakes.

But a large discrepancy exists in how helpful devices are, even in responses from associates in the same country and sub-sector.

Retailers must provide associates with the ability to access accurate and meaningful data quickly. So they can answer questions confidently and checkout customers on the spot, eliminating poor in-store experience and walkouts.

Store associates are the backbone of retail operations. How easily they can access information, streamline tasks, and deliver exceptional customer service directly impacts bottom-line results.

But an enemy is holding them back. It’s one that those on the frontline are familiar with but remains hidden for some retailers.

Our research shows that poor scanning performance is a major pain point for associates across the globe, hindering both productivity and customer satisfaction.

Even those happy with their devices recognize the role of advanced scanning capabilities, such as multi-barcode or ID scanning, in customer experience and workflow improvement.

Retail is complex, and the results of this study demonstrate that. The onus is on retailers to understand the nuances and determine where technology can most impact their associates and the environment in which they operate.

But it isn’t something they need to tackle alone. Scandit understands these complexities. Our technology and Enterprise Success Team are dedicated to helping retailers unlock the full potential of their associates.

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