LINCOLNSHIRE, ILL: Two thirds of shoppers worldwide would be willing to purchase more merchandise if they received better customer service and technology can play a role in achieving that, according to a new survey.

Zebra Technologies polled nearly 2,000 shoppers across 12 countries – including the US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, England, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, China, Japan and Thailand – on their experiences and attitudes toward the use of in-store technologies to enhance customer satisfaction.

The impact of good customer service can be significant as 24% of respondents indicated they would be prepared to buy up to 10% more merchandise and the same percentage would buy up to 50% more.

A smaller proportion were ready to go even further: 11% said they would buy twice as much, 3% three times as much and 2% five times as much.

More than three-quarters (76%) of shoppers felt positive about shopping in stores and more than half (58%) agreed that store associates equipped with technology such as handheld mobile computers improved the shopping experience.

A significant minority (33%), however, thought they were better connected to real-time information than in-store associates and 35% said they could find information faster on their own smartphones than asking an assistant for help.

Broadly similar proportions preferred to turn to self-help kiosks rather than using their own smartphone (37%) or talking to an assistant (29%).

In terms of in-store technology shoppers were interested in mobile coupons (51%), shopping maps (45%) and location-based associate assistance (41%); wifi hotspots (44%) were also popular.

"As online and mobile shopping become more prevalent and accepted worldwide, the importance of the customer experience remains high," noted Nick D'Alessio, global retail solutions development at Zebra Technologies.

"Mobile technology helps provide real-time visibility of product availability, flexible delivery and payment options – freeing retailers to focus on the shopper experience and delivering personalised service to customers," he added.

Data sourced from PR Newswire; additional content by Warc staff