Are we moving towards a future of contactless commerce?
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 8:07 am
Digitalisation trends often lead to dehumanisation . Retailers have been looking to optimise costs for some time now, and to achieve this, greater automation means less need for staff . This means that we can buy and obtain services without having to come into contact with anyone. So we ask ourselves, are we heading towards a future in the retail sector without human contact?
It seems that Amazon Go , the e-commerce company's supermarket, where you add products to your basket and leave without having to go through the checkout, has raised a great deal of expectations. Everything is charged to our Amazon account. Beyond the errors or the curiosity it may arouse, it is a system that has been quietly being implemented for some time through different technologies .
Some examples of businesses with few or no employees
We are not talking about small shops with vending machines , easy to find especially in city centres, where you can buy anything from a toothbrush to a sandwich at any time of the day. Although they have become a 24-hour store, their range is quite limited.
We have seen how large hypermarkets have long since installed an automatic checkout , so that the customer can read the bar code and make the payment, either in cash or in cash. Normally, there is one assistance person for every six or eight checkouts. This way of working makes it possible for this large supermarket to be open 24 hours a day without personnel costs skyrocketing.
Another common example is found in automated gas stations , where many of them do not even have a responsible person. The pump has everything necessary to complete the payment process when refueling. And this despite handling a flammable substance such as gasoline. In exchange, the customer gets a lower cost per liter, which makes them appreciated by those who drive more kilometers with their vehicles.
Technology as an aid for small businesses
Other experiments are trying to bring the online insurance email list shopping model to the street . A pilot test is being carried out by Zara in the United Kingdom. You can buy products, but you cannot try them on and they are not delivered to you at the same time, but you can pick them up a few hours later. The entire purchasing process is done online, as if you were doing it in the online store from home. Although in this case it does have the assistance of employees.
Shop assistants help customers with their purchases using tablets and mobile devices to complete the process. In addition, although there are no fitting rooms, there are a series of virtual mirrors that will suggest different combinations of clothes based on the one we have chosen. There is no cash register, as payment is made online.
Small technological changes that make a big improvement
Finally, there are many businesses that also transfer part of this process to the customer, especially in everything that has to do with payment or with automatic cash registers to improve cash management . The payment process is carried out by the clerk who tells us the total to be paid. If paying in cash, the customer can put the money in the ATM through different wallets and coin machines enabled for this purpose.
It seems that Amazon Go , the e-commerce company's supermarket, where you add products to your basket and leave without having to go through the checkout, has raised a great deal of expectations. Everything is charged to our Amazon account. Beyond the errors or the curiosity it may arouse, it is a system that has been quietly being implemented for some time through different technologies .
Some examples of businesses with few or no employees
We are not talking about small shops with vending machines , easy to find especially in city centres, where you can buy anything from a toothbrush to a sandwich at any time of the day. Although they have become a 24-hour store, their range is quite limited.
We have seen how large hypermarkets have long since installed an automatic checkout , so that the customer can read the bar code and make the payment, either in cash or in cash. Normally, there is one assistance person for every six or eight checkouts. This way of working makes it possible for this large supermarket to be open 24 hours a day without personnel costs skyrocketing.
Another common example is found in automated gas stations , where many of them do not even have a responsible person. The pump has everything necessary to complete the payment process when refueling. And this despite handling a flammable substance such as gasoline. In exchange, the customer gets a lower cost per liter, which makes them appreciated by those who drive more kilometers with their vehicles.
Technology as an aid for small businesses
Other experiments are trying to bring the online insurance email list shopping model to the street . A pilot test is being carried out by Zara in the United Kingdom. You can buy products, but you cannot try them on and they are not delivered to you at the same time, but you can pick them up a few hours later. The entire purchasing process is done online, as if you were doing it in the online store from home. Although in this case it does have the assistance of employees.
Shop assistants help customers with their purchases using tablets and mobile devices to complete the process. In addition, although there are no fitting rooms, there are a series of virtual mirrors that will suggest different combinations of clothes based on the one we have chosen. There is no cash register, as payment is made online.
Small technological changes that make a big improvement
Finally, there are many businesses that also transfer part of this process to the customer, especially in everything that has to do with payment or with automatic cash registers to improve cash management . The payment process is carried out by the clerk who tells us the total to be paid. If paying in cash, the customer can put the money in the ATM through different wallets and coin machines enabled for this purpose.