Young consumers happy with Amazon till-free store shopping - Mintel study

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Mar 4, 2021

This is a physical trading platform to keep an eye on. With the first Amazon tech-driven till-free Fresh store opening in Ealing in the UK Thursday, latest research from Mintel reveals that 76% of Britons say they would shop at one. It's the first of this store type for the firm outside of the US.

The takeaway here is that fashion and beauty businesses would do well to monitor cashier-less technology that could become more of a norm in the years ahead where consumers will search out queue-less checkout that leads to speedy shopping.

The overall interest in shopping at these physical stores is higher among younger shoppers, with 84% of 16-34s showing some interest. Conversely 39% of over-65s said they would not shop in one of Amazon's stores.

Asked what would encourage them to shop at a physical Amazon store, 63% of consumers said they would be attracted to discounts for Prime membership. Meanwhile, 24% would like the opportunity to be able to collect online orders. That's also interesting for fashion and beauty because, even if the concept only stays in grocery, the potential to collect non-grocery parcels is huge.

The importance of a fast shopping experience is highlighted by the 44% of consumers who say they have looked to limit their time in-store since the pandemic began.

Nick Carroll, Mintel associate director of Retail, said: “Naturally being an Amazon store it has unique technology woven into it. This is a destination store and a technological show of force from Amazon, designed to give shoppers a glimpse into the future".