Has COVID-19 changed interaction brick-and-mortar stores? A study on self-checkouts

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic means a major disruption in brick-and-mortar stores. Customer-Facing InStore Technologies (CFIST) perception may be modified as new requirements and concerns arise when interacting in the physical space. Through surveys conducted before and after the COVID-19 lockdown, this study brings relevant findings about the impact of the pandemic in the retailer perception of a specific CFIST technology, Self-Checkout systems (SCO). We used a simplified adoption framework including a new construct, Safety to Use, to analyse the impact of health concerns in CFIST. Results show that both Perceived Enjoyment and Safety to Use are relevant predictors of the Attitude towards SCOs, and that Retailer Perception is strongly influenced by the Attitude towards SCOs. This study is one of the first to study the impact of COVID-19 in retail technology. Results can help to improve the deployment of this technology after the pandemic and may be extended to other CFIST technologies, setting new avenues of research for technology adoption scholars.