Frictionless commerce faces uphill battle from lukewarm customer feedback

The sector gained a moderate $375.m from retail in 2023.

Frictionless commerce has been facing scrutiny due to the current lukewarm response from consumers, attributed to changing consumer habits and additional obstacles to its convenience.

In a report, GlobalData said ease of entry is one of the barriers in attracting consumers. Consumers have been turned off by requests, like downloading an app required to enter a store and using in-house technology to go through the process, rendering convenience a challenge.

The sector posted $375.m from retail in 2023, representing lower than 0.01% of the overall global in-store retail market.

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Currently, it is forecasted that frictionless commerce will attain a compound annual growth rate of 15.6% between 2022 and 2030, resulting in a total revenue of $1b by 2029. Trends like cheaper sensors in stores, the opening of planned stores, and expansion of frictionless commerce tech will be indicators of the sector’s success.

“Consumers are hesitant to adopt frictionless commerce for understandable reasons. Introducing a new product or technology will always be difficult, and the market is pushing back against frictionless commerce. It may be innovative, but consumers have the final say and do not seem enormously supportive of this new retail concept,” Aisha U-K Umaru, Thematic Intelligence Analyst at GlobalData, stated.