The physical frictionless experience: a slippery slope for experience memorability of retail services?

ABSTRACT

Service industries are increasingly creating physical frictionless experiences to reduce effort for customers so they are able to ‘just walk out’. However, frictionless experiences can reduce memorability which can in turn reduce share of wallet. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between customer effort and experience memorability in a just-walk-out physical frictionless experience. Interviews were conducted with 30 customers using a simulated frictionless retail experience. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. This study found that a just-walk-out physical frictionless experience consists of transferable positive and negative effort with physical, cognitive, and interpersonal components. A second finding was that the reduction of customer effort is facilitated by removing high interpersonal effort which is associated with a more forgettable, or slippery, experience. Individual differences that appear to play a role in desire for effortful human interaction, shopping value type, attitude towards technology and age were identified.

摘要： 服务业正不断创造实体、无摩擦体验，让客户省力，购物后“直接出去”。但该体验可能会降低记忆性，进而降低销售额。本文探讨这类购物体验中客户努力与体验记忆性的关系。使用模拟无摩擦零售体验访谈30 位客户及对数据主题分析发现，这类实体、无摩擦体验包括可转移的正、负努力，涉及身体、认知和人际成分。与易忘体验相关的去除高人际努力会减少客户努力。在费力的人际互动愿望、购物价值类型、对技术的态度，及年龄上有个体差异。

KEYWORDS:

• Customer effort
• experience memorability
• instore technology
• frictionless experience
• services
• retail

关键词:

• 客户努力
• 体验记忆性
• 店内科技
• 无摩擦体验
• 服务
• 零售

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).