Are consumers comfortable with facial recognition? It depends says new study.

As contactless retail becomes the new normal, retail and grocery chains are rapidly implementing a variety of technologies, such as self-checkout kiosks, pre-order pickup, mobile wallets, and more. While these innovations make the shopping experience more convenient and safer (especially during COVID), the tradeoff is a loss of privacy.

AI developers Myplanet conducted an extensive survey to determine consumer comfort with a variety of retail and grocery technologies. The survey found that only 16% of respondents are comfortable with in-store facial recognition.

However, 56% of respondents are comfortable with self-checkout kiosks, even though facial recognition is a component of that technology. Comfort levels decrease when looking at similar technologies such as in-store facial recognition per the above, and geo-fencing (20% comfort). Other key findings include that more than 70% of consumers remain wary of in-store facial recognition and 65% of respondents are uncomfortable with AI-targeted smart ads. 

Interestingly, the study shows that among male and female respondents, women are more comfortable with pre-order pickup than men (62% versus 50%). Respondents between 25-44 years old were generally the most comfortable with retail and grocery technologies; comfort levels declines among older respondents 65+.