Expert Opinions on Smart Retailing Technologies and Their Impacts

Abstract

The share of e-commerce has been rising uninterrupted for many years, but the largest share of sales is still achieved in stationary retail. Nevertheless, many retailers are forced to address the benefits that consumers have gotten used to through digital shopping experiences. Smart Retailing (SR) is seen as a possible solution for brick-and-mortar stores to answer the challenges created by the rise of e-commerce. This study aims to present the current state of research in SR and evaluate its potential to confront the challenges that have arisen in the industry. To do so, we built upon insights from previous works, in which we derived specific areas of impact that need to be considered when implementing those technologies. In this work, we substantiate our developed assessment with empirical data generated through the analysis of exploratory expert interviews. The \textit{gain of valuable data} and the \textit{personalization of the shopping experience} are confirmed among the positive impact factors. At the same time, \textit{privacy concerns} and \textit{customer acceptance risk} were the most discussed negative impact factors in the interviews. Finally, the interview findings were used to adapt the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to the specific context of SR. Overall, this work provides more profound insight into the essential factors that need to be considered by brick-and-mortar retailers to face the increasing pressure imposed by online competition.