CHINASHOP 2023 showcases its latest retail solutions

April 13, 2023 - Zebra Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZBRA), a solutions provider dedicated to helping businesses gain a performance advantage, today released its 2023 Global Consumer Survey. The report's findings suggest that offline shopping has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, and that more consumers are becoming comfortable with self-service and using in-store "do-it-yourself" (DIY) technology, freeing up retail staff to spend more time serving consumers on site.

At the same time, Zebra Technology will present its Modern Store end-to-end retail industry solutions at China Retail Expo 2023 (CHINASHOP 2023, booth N5052). With a wide range of product lines, we fully demonstrate Zebra technology's advanced technology in the retail industry, as well as its advantages in optimizing inventory and fulfillment management, realizing intelligent operations, and improving customer experience satisfaction.

Consumers gravitate toward a "mobile-first" retail experience

Across the globe, consumer interaction with self-service solutions continues to increase, with nearly half of consumers surveyed saying they have used self-checkout and nearly 40 percent using cashless payment methods. A similar trend is seen in Asia Pacific, where 47 percent of consumers surveyed have used self-checkout and 46 percent would opt for cashless payment methods.

43% of consumers surveyed globally (and 50% in Asia Pacific) prefer to use a mobile device or smartphone to make payments. About half of respondents (50% globally and 48% in Asia Pacific) prefer self-checkout, with a similar decline in preference for traditional manual checkout methods globally and in Asia Pacific (55% globally and 51% in Asia Pacific).

Most retailers believe that with the development of automation technology, the need for manned checkout is becoming less and less. Globally, nearly half of the retailers surveyed plan to convert traditional checkout areas to self-checkout and contactless checkout, leaving stores ready to meet future demand. The same trend is seen in Asia Pacific - 79 percent of retailers surveyed see less need for manual checkout, 53 percent already have self-checkout in-store, and 52 percent plan to offer contactless checkout options.

Consumers demand 'everything experience'

No matter how consumers shop, they expect a seamless experience. Seventy percent of respondents prefer to shop both in-store and online, preferring to shop at online retail outlets that also have physical stores. Convenience is king: the majority of consumers surveyed (75% globally and 73% in Asia Pacific) prefer home delivery and choose retailers that offer in-store or curbside pickup (64% globally and 64% in Asia Pacific).

Ning Cheng, Technical Director of Zebra Technology Greater China, said: "Today, e-commerce has become the norm and multiple retail channels are merging with each other, in this context, ensuring a seamless experience for offline and online platforms is very critical for retailers, because consumers will see it as a shopping experience no matter what shopping channel they choose. More importantly, as the fulfillment model of retail continues to evolve, retailers need to adopt the right technology to empower their employees and help them better accomplish their tasks."

While 79% of consumers surveyed globally (76% in Asia Pacific) are concerned about inflationary price increases for daily necessities, that doesn't mean they will necessarily leave the store empty-handed for price reasons. Retail employees surveyed said out-of-stock complaints were their number one problem (43% globally and 38% in Asia Pacific). Globally, as many as 76 percent of consumers surveyed were unable to purchase the item they wanted when they left the store, 49 percent of which were due to out of stock. In Asia Pacific, the percentage of consumers who did not complete their pre-orders was generally lower (64%), due to either being out of stock (44%) or having found a lower price elsewhere (27%).

Retailers are aware of these reasons. 80% of respondents consider maintaining real-time visibility of out-of-stock to be a major challenge. To this end, retailers need better inventory management tools to improve accuracy and availability (79% globally and 84% in Asia Pacific).

Make full use of labor

Nearly 70 percent of consumers surveyed are now satisfied with the help of retail employees, up from 37 percent in 2007. Overall, consumers, retail employees, and decision makers agree that consumers have a better experience when employees use the latest technology to help. But that's not the only benefit of technology, especially in the face of labor shortages: a majority of retail employees (78% globally and 74% in Asia Pacific) and decision makers (84% globally and 82% in Asia Pacific) surveyed agree that stores that utilize retail technology and mobile devices also attract and retain more employees.

Wu Guoshuai, head of Zebra Technologies Greater China, East China and Taiwan, said: "The retail industry has always maintained a rapid development momentum. While technology integration helps retailers meet customer expectations in a timely manner, employees remain an important touchpoint for long-term customer loyalty. Where possible, retailers should enhance the high-value services provided by their employees and equip them with the right technology to help them handle evolving omnichannel businesses. As retailers look to the future, the key is to embrace intelligent automation and provide more support for employees to deliver on-demand services that are satisfying and efficient for consumers."

Summary of highlights:

Zebra Technologies' 2023 Global Consumer Survey Report shows that the number of offline shoppers has roughly returned to pre-pandemic levels. At a time when retailers are struggling with a tight labor market, supply chain shortages and inflation, consumers are returning to stores with higher expectations. More and more consumers are gravitating toward a seamless "mobile-first" and "everything" retail experience, and they are ready to embrace technological advancements.

Retail decision makers recognize that seamless integration of online and in-store shopping experiences is critical to winning in retail now and sustaining success in the future. Retailers need to adopt the right technology and management tools to empower retail employees to better deliver on-demand services that are satisfying and efficient for consumers.

• Retail employees are an important touchpoint for long-term customer loyalty. Going forward, embracing intelligent automation is key. Increasing automation and improving inventory management to become more sustainable are important tasks for retail decision makers when investing in retail technology.

Investigate background and methodology

Zebra Technologies' 2023 Global Consumer Survey was conducted by Azure Knowledge between June and July 2022, with more than 4,200 consumers, retail employees and decision makers from around the world. This includes respondents from the Asia Pacific region in Australia, China, India, Japan and New Zealand. The survey aims to gain insight into their perceptions and expectations of the current consumer experience, technology adoption and fulfillment of orders.