Young shoppers want to pay with chip in skin
Pastor Dale Morgan
Young shoppers want to pay with chip in skin*
Last updated at 14:13pm on 12th October 2006
Some customers are willing to have microchip implants as a means of
paying in stores, a report out today says.
Teenagers are more open to the idea of having a high-tech shopping
experience, the Tomorrow's Shopping World report suggests.
Around 8 per cent of 13 to 19-year-olds were open to the idea of
microchip implants while 16 per cent wanted trolleys to be fitted with
SatNav systems.
This compared to just 5 per cent and 12 per cent respectively for adults
asked the same questions. Two thirds of teenagers and 62 per cent of
adults questioned for grocery think tank IGD's report wanted
self-scanning systems at shop check-outs.
Some 7 per cent of people in both age groups were willing to use
biometric iris or retina recognition payment systems.
On a more low-tech note, 61 per cent of adults and 57 per cent of
teenagers wanted staff to pack their bags in shops.
And a "cashless society" is not expected to have materialised within the
next decade.
The report says 39 per cent of teenage respondents and 30 per cent of
adults said they would still be using cash in 10 year's time.
It adds: "The current and future progress of technology services in
store is counter-balanced by the need for shopping with some form of
'human contact'."
One third of adults and 40 per cent of teenagers wanted lots of staff
involvement with the shopping experience.
The report, sponsored by technology services company EDS, followed an
IGD poll of 500 teenagers and a similar number of adults about their
predicted grocery shopping habits for the next decade.