Customers are ready to embrace automated replenishment services to purchase their everyday household goods.
According to a study by eCommerce consultancy, Salmon, customers are happy to let internet-enabled devices order products on their behalf.
The survey of over 2,000 UK consumers reported 57% will be ready for this automated purchasing technology within the next two years, while 13% are ready now.
Enabling 'smart' appliances and white goods, such as fridges and coffee machines to reorder milk and beans when they are running low is made possible by connecting devices to the internet. Salmon, calls this process 'Programmatic Commerce' and stated 58% of shoppers would buy internet-enabled devices if they would reorder goods on their behalf.
According to the survey, customers are most comfortable using the technology to order household goods, grocery items and beauty products.
"The rise of digital has been the single greatest change in retail over the past decade. Consumers have wholeheartedly embraced online shopping services for the convenience, time-saving and enjoyment they can bring," said Neil Stewart, CEO of Salmon.
"While we expected consumers to already appreciate the benefits of digital, we have been pleasantly surprised by how ready they are for automated shopping. Our research paints a picture of a sophisticated and engaged consumer, ready to take advantage of the impact of smart technology in their digital shopping."
Salmon explained how a customer simply enters price limits and their preferred brands when they set up the programme and will have household goods replenished when the devices detect they are running low.
A third of consumers already use smart technologies in their homes, or plan to do so in the next 12 months, while 58% of shoppers would opt for smart devices when they need to replace big-ticket purchases, like a fridge.
Yesterday, Amazon announced the launch of its Dash Buttons in the UK. These devices allow customers to press a button when they run out of their favourite brands, such as Andrex or Gillette. But Amazon also released the APIs to its cloud-based Amazon Dash Replenishment Service (DRS) in a bid to allow manufacturers to skip the buttons and develop the technology directly within the household appliance, enabling a washing machine to reorder detergent or a printer to replenish ink.
"Connected devices are growing at an incredible rate, with 26 billion expected to exist by 2020,” added Stewart. "The possibilities that these devices can offer in retail are astounding, from fridges ordering weekly groceries to cars ordering replacement tyres when they are worn down. We have already seen consumer appetite for purchases through connected devices in the launch of Amazon Dash, and Programmatic Commerce will take this further."
The main concerns of consumers over the adoption of these technologies is a lack of control over purchases (54%). Meanwhile half of shoppers are worried about security and privacy of their personal data.
"Brands, retailers and manufacturers must prepare themselves for Programmatic Commerce, both through technology advances and through the partnerships to bring these services into British homes," he concluded. "Consumers will embrace the convenience of Programmatic Commerce, and those that offer it first will reap the advantages."
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