There’s one generation who loves using them: Generation Z.
Interestingly, however, Generation Z is at the forefront of this tech-driven trend, with 52 percent of them willing to switch retailers for checkout-free stores. Moreover, 49 percent of respondents indicate that “they would be likely to spend more money with a retailer that has a connected or automated checkout experience,” and 52 percent believe that connected stores would increase their loyalty to a retail brand.
Gen Z, it seems, can’t get enough of “frictionless shopping.” The factors driving Gen Z toward cashier-free retail experiences include a faster shopping experience (46 percent), the convenience of not having to wait in line (34 percent), and, most worryingly of all, reduced interaction with other people (33 percent).
“You know how this process actually goes by now: You still have to wait in line. The checkout kiosks bleat and flash when you fail to set a purchase down in the right spot,” noted the clearly irritated author of the piece, Amanda Mull. “Scanning those items is sometimes a crapshoot.”
She noted that some customers wave “a barcode too vigorously in front of an uncooperative machine,” and suddenly scan the item “two or three times.” To compound matters, “you need to locate the usually lone employee charged with supervising all of the finicky kiosks, who will radiate exasperation at you while scanning her ID badge and tapping the kiosk’s touch screen from pure muscle memory.”
Although the rise in self-checkout machines is lamentable, even infuriating, it’s Gen Z’s desire to use them that should really concern us. After all, self-checkouts were designed explicitly to remove humans from the equation. No cashier. Just you, the customer, and a mercurial machine that, as Ms. Mull expertly pointed out, appears to derive great joy from turning a tedious task into an enraging one.
It’s not entirely Gen Z’s fault. In many ways, they’re victims of the environments in which they were raised. Many of them have, from an early age, been glued to the screens of various digital devices. They lack proper socialization skills.
This isn’t healthy behavior, and these aren’t healthy intentions. It’s an alarming finding that raises a number of questions and even more concerns.
Often, he said, they’re angry, grieving, or depressed. Shoplifting, especially compulsive shoplifting, isn’t necessarily done to get something for nothing. Instead, it’s done to distract individuals from the sadness of their existence. It makes sense. Happy, content people don’t shoplift. Millions of Gen Zers aren’t happy, and they’re certainly not content.
Gen Z isn’t just struggling to make friends. Many of this generation’s members are struggling to hold onto the ones they already have. Friendships require cultivation, maintenance, and sacrifice. They can be hard work.
Which brings us back to the Avery Dennison report and its broader implications for society. Gen Z appears to be the first generation destined to check out—or, should I say, self-check out—from traditional society.
It’s easy for members of other generations to poke fun at Gen Z, to constantly criticize them. But, as is clear to see, many of these young adults are crying out for help. Maybe, instead of constant ridicule, they require a little more compassion.
