Scan Shopper Use of Handheld Scanners

Having your customers scan their purchases as they shop, using handheld devices you provide or an app on their own phone, could save you money in store staffing and speed the checkout process. But what are the effects on customers’ buying behavior?, researchers at Babson College, University of Tennessee, and University of Bath wondered.
     In a set of studies, they found that, on average, use of a handheld scanner increases the basket total. This generally came from the user buying more items rather than buying higher-priced items. The additional items were largely those classified as impulse or healthy. My interpretation of this is that people justified to themselves buying an impulse item by also purchasing a healthy item.
     This increase in basket total might not be what you’d expect to happen. Using the scanner increases awareness of how many items you’re purchasing and the price of each item. You could think this would stifle spending. However, the effect was the opposite in most cases. The many shoppers who stay conscious of their budget relax a bit when they can delegate the tabulation to the scanner. In fact, the minority of people who said they shop without a budget spent less, on average, when using the device.
     Parallel findings resulted with use of another tracking device. Researchers affiliated with Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Groningen, Maastricht University, and Wageningen University conducted a study in a set of Atlanta grocery stores using shopping carts containing a panel displaying a running total of purchase costs. In this study, budget shoppers spent about 22% more than those without that smart cart, while non-budget shoppers spent about 19% less.
     Such self-service purchase technologies slow the shopper down and cause them to pay closer attention to items. The devices also can be programmed to issue answers to questions a shopper has about an item. Shopper involvement builds. Expect handheld scanners to give a more uniform sales lift than do smart carts, though. This is because research finds that scanner users subconsciously consider the device to be an extension of their body rather than separate from it. This puts the shopper psychologically closer to each item which is being evaluated. The closeness stimulates purchasing.
     If minimum physical interaction with merchandise is preferred during purchase because of contamination concerns, shoppers might choose to keep their hands off scanners. Yet they could always wear gloves.

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