Cashier-free supermarkets and consumer emotions

AI technology has changed the retail shopping experience, with several supermarket
chains investing in cashier-free store formats. Using a real store, the present
paper examines how the new technology impacts young consumers’ affective responses,
including in cases of service disruptions. The results of an exploratory
experiment (N = 151) indicate that compared to the traditional self-checkout supermarket,
the cashier-free technology is well accepted by young consumers, who
find it more empowering and exciting, more useful, easier to understand and use.
Contrary to our expectations, consumers are not highly concerned about their privacy
while using the cashier-free technology and have similar affective and behavioural
reactions to technical problems that may arise in the store. Implications for
retailers who plan to invest in cashier-free stores are discussed.