However, a third are skeptical about technical reliability, according to a BITKOM survey

Fully automated stores with no waiting times at the checkouts are becoming increasingly popular. According to a new survey by the digital association BITKOM (https://www.bitkom.org) of 1,180 web users aged 16 and over, around 23 percent would generally like to shop in a smart store. Among 16- to 29-year-olds, 27 percent would use this service, and among 30- to 49-year-olds, 29 percent would.

Advantages in rural areas

In principle, advantages are seen above all for less densely populated regions and in terms of time savings: 34 percent say that smart stores can create more shopping opportunities in rural areas. 31 percent say that smart stores that are open 24 hours a day would make their daily lives easier by making them independent of opening hours.

Although 13 percent of those surveyed even assume that in ten years there will only be smart stores, there are still some hurdles to overcome – high investment costs for technology such as artificial intelligence, sensor technology and automated checkout systems, but also, to some extent, data protection concerns and reservations about new technology.

Data protection concerns

36 percent of respondents are concerned about whether the technology in smart stores will work reliably. 32 percent say they have concerns about data protection when using smart stores. And 28 percent would find it unsettling if their movements were recorded by sensors and cameras when shopping in smart stores.