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Mobile self-checkout refers to scanning products using a mobile device inside a brick-and-mortar store and completing the checkout process on mobile devices. Even though mobile self-checkout has been used in other industries for several years, it is a new application in the fashion industry and only limited numbers of retailers have implemented mobile self-checkout in their stores. The purpose of this study is to understand consumers' acceptance of mobile self-checkout in fashion retail stores by analyzing determinants of using a new system.

Part of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was used as a theoretical framework. Openness to experience, variety seeking and adventure shopping were added to the model. Empirical data (with 229 valid responses) were collected from the top 20 metropolitan areas in the US via Qualtrics Panel services. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and multi-group moderation were used to estimate construct validity and test the proposed hypotheses and theoretical framework.

The results indicated that consumers' intentions toward using mobile self-checkout in fashion retail stores were predicted by facilitating conditions, social influence and openness to experience. Moreover, consumers' previous experience of using mobile self-checkout in fashion retail stores moderated the path from facilitating conditions to behavioral intention and the path from social influence to behavioral intention. In addition, different genders and smartphone usage frequency did not vary significantly on the model paths.

The findings show how fashion retailers can understand consumers' preference and their willingness to use mobile self-checkout in fashion retail stores. Moreover, the authors addressed ways for fashion retailers to promote mobile self-checkout in the future.

As a new technology in the fashion industry, literature is deficient concerning consumers' intention to adopt mobile self-checkout. This research provided suggestions for fashion retailers about adopting and improving acceptance of mobile self-checkout. Results will lead to theoretical and managerial implications for future technology development.

Retailers are implementing technology-enabled mobile checkout processes in their stores to improve service quality, decrease labor costs and gain operational efficiency. These new checkout processes have increased customer convenience primarily by providing them autonomy in sales transactions in that store employee interventions play a reduced role. However, this autonomy has the unintended consequence of altering the checks and balances inherent in a traditional employee-assisted checkout process. Retailers, already grappling with shoplifting, with an estimated annual cost of billions of dollars, fear that the problem may be exacerbated by mobile checkout and concomitant customer autonomy. The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of mobile checkout processes in retail stores on cybercrime in the form of shoplifting enabled by a technology transformed the retail environment.

The authors conducted an online survey of a US sample recruited from a crowdsourced platform. The authors test a research model that aims to understand the factors that influence the intention to shoplift in three different mobile checkout settings − namely, smartphone checkout settings, store-provided mobile device checkout settings, and employee-assisted mobile checkout settings − and compare it with a traditional fixed location checkout setting.

The authors found that, in a smartphone checkout setting, intention to shoplift was driven by experiential beliefs and peer influence, and experiential beliefs and peer influence had a stronger effect for prospective shoplifters when compared to experienced shoplifters; in a store-provided mobile devices checkout setting, experiential beliefs had a negative effect on shoplifters’ intention to shoplift and the effect was weaker for prospective shoplifters when compared to experienced shoplifters. The results also indicated that in an employee-assisted mobile checkout setting, intention to shoplift was driven by experiential beliefs and peer influence, and experiential beliefs had a stronger effect for prospective shoplifters when compared to experienced shoplifters.

This study is the among the first, if not first, to examine shoplifters’ intention to shoplift in mobile checkout settings. We provide insights into how those who may not have considered shoplifting in less favorable criminogenic settings may change their behavior due to the autonomy provided by mobile checkout settings and also provide an understanding of the shoplifting intention for both prospective and experienced shoplifters in different mobile checkout settings.

Mobile technologies are increasingly used as a data source to enable big data analytics that enable inventory control and logistics planning for omnichannel businesses. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the use of mobile technologies to facilitate customers’ shopping in physical retail stores and associated implementation challenges.

First, the authors introduce three emerging mobile shopping checkout processes in the retail store. Second, the authors suggest that new validation procedures (i.e. exit inspections) necessary for implementation of mobile-technology-enabled checkout processes may disrupt traditional retail service processes. The authors propose a construct labeled “tolerance for validation” defined as customer reactions to checkout procedures. The authors define and discuss five dimensions – tolerance for: unfair process; changes in validation process; inconvenience; mistrust; and privacy intrusion. The authors develop a measurement scale for the proposed construct and conduct a study among 239 customers.

The results show that customers have higher tolerance for validation under scenarios in which mobile technologies are used in the checkout processes, as compared to the traditional self-service scenario in which no mobile technology is used. In particular, the customers do not show a clear preference for specific mobile shopping scenarios.

These findings contribute to our understanding of a challenge that omnichannel businesses may face as they leverage data from digital technologies to enhance collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment processes. The proposed construct and measurement scales can be used in future work on omnichannel retailing.

Continuous change has long been recognized as a core characteristic of retailing, its recent acceleration unprecedented, yet innovation in retailing remains under-researched, especially within fashion retailing. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to generate a deeper understanding of if, and to what extent, fashion retailers across different market segments are innovating in terms of in-store technology diffusion over time by taking a long-term perspective over five years.

Drawing on retail change and innovation diffusion theory, the study takes a qualitative approach, using direct observation of 71 fashion stores in London (UK) in 2014 and 2019. In total, 142 stores were tabulated in Excel and qualitatively analysed manually and with NVivo.

The findings identify the innovation adoption strategies implemented, the types of in-store technologies adopted over time and the fashion retail innovation adopters.

The research offers new knowledge in terms of retail innovation and retail change, specifically on retail diffusion of innovation and the importance of in-store technology integration. Several practical implications for improving technology innovation management are also identified.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative framework that will assist in understanding the adoption of digital food shopping. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the demand for digital shopping, but the adoption of digital shopping for food has not accelerated as fast as in other product categories. This study considered the role of socio-cultural factors to understand the reason for slow adoption of digital technology to access food. A cultural framework that can be used to investigate socio-cultural factors in this context was lacking, however, this paper provides a discussion of social and cultural factors and developed measurement scales to assist in understanding cultural change acceptance in consumers' adoption of digital technology to purchase food.

Using Hayes' process analysis, this paper investigated how cultural acceptance – mediated by consumer affection and appeal and measuring the moderated effects of digital trust (DT) – determined the eventual impact on consumer intention to adopt digital food retailing. This paper also considered moderated mediation with parallel mediations (consumer affection and appeal, digital convenience (DC) and consumer digital readiness) interacting with DT and consumer learning.

The authors found that cultural acceptance of digital technology (CADT) is an antecedent to the adoption of digital shopping for food, but this is also mediated by consumers' appeal and affection for digital technology and consumers' digital readiness.

This study also indicates that DT influences consumer appeal and affection (CAA), especially amongst female consumers.

The paper represents an empirical investigation of a new conceptual framework that considers socio-cultural factors to understand consumers' use of digital technology in food shopping which has been an existing knowledge gap in current literature.

Mobile checkout in the retail store has the promise to be a rich source of big data. It is also a means to increase the rate at which big data flows into an organization as well as the potential to integrate product recommendations and promotions in real time. However, despite efforts by retailers to implement this retail innovation, adoption by customers has been slow. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Based on interviews and focus groups with leading retailers, technology providers, and service providers, the authors identified several emerging in-store mobile scenarios; and based on customer focus groups, the authors identified potential drivers and inhibitors of use.

A first departure from the traditional customer checkout process flow is that a mobile checkout involves two processes: scanning and payment, and that checkout scenarios with respect to each of these processes varied across two dimensions: first, location – whether they were fixed by location or mobile; and second, autonomy – whether they were assisted by store employees or unassisted. The authors found no evidence that individuals found mobile scanning to be either enjoyable or to have utilitarian benefit. The authors also did not find greater privacy concerns with mobile payments scenarios. The authors did, however, in the post hoc analysis find that mobile unassisted scanning was preferred to mobile assisted scanning. The authors also found that mobile unassisted scanning with fixed unassisted checkout was a preferred service mode, while there was evidence that mobile assisted scanning with mobile assisted payment was the least preferred checkout mode. Finally, the authors found that individual differences including computer self-efficacy, personal innovativeness, and technology anxiety were strong predictors of adoption of mobile scanning and payment scenarios.

The work helps the authors understand the emerging mobile checkout scenarios in the retail environment and customer reactions to these scenarios.

Retailers and suppliers are facing the challenge of reconfiguring systems to accommodate increasingly mobile customers expecting multichannel options supporting quick and secure digital payment. The purpose of this paper is to harness the learning from the implementation of self-checkout and combines it with available information relating to mobile scanning and mobile point-of-sale (MPOS).

In review of the literature, the paper provides an overview of different modes of mobile payment systems, and a consideration of some of the benefits that they offer to retailers and their customers. The main focus, drawing upon telephone interviews with retail security professionals in Australia and New Zealand, is on anticipating and mitigating against the potential risks, vulnerabilities and impact on shrinkage.

With the market being flooded with software and products, retailers are exposed to a compelling case for mobile payment, but it was found that they are not as cognisant of the potential risks.

Further research is needed on the different permutations of mobile POS and how it impacts on the customer journey and rates of internal and external theft.

Suggestions for future empirical research on the risks and vulnerabilities that moving to mobile payment can usher in are provided.

The paper links research from diverse fields, in particular criminology, to elucidate the potential impact of mobile technologies on retail theft and internal technological and process issues, before offering possible solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of selected mobile technology literature and to inform librarians about the following seven mobile initiatives: Library Web sites; SMS Reference; MOPACs (Mobile OPACs) and Integrated Library Systems; Mobile Collections; eBooks and Mobile Reading; Mobile Instruction; Mobile Audio/Video Tours.

A literature review is gathered from periodical articles as well as a number of well‐known blogs discussing mobile initiatives in libraries.

Listed in order of importance to most patrons, the seven initiatives examined were chosen because their widespread discussion in the literature, at presentations, and on blogs suggests that they are moving beyond mere trends and are becoming best practices. The development and implementation of these mobile services can range from work‐intensive and expensive to scalable, inexpensive solutions.

The information may be used by libraries seeking to add mobile technologies in order to enhance their traditional services, making them not only more available, but also more relevant to their users. In addition, the examinations provide, where possible, the author's recommendations for libraries seeking to implement such initiatives and suggest directions for future applications.

Purpose: This paper presents a review of the current state and potential capabilities for application of robots, artificial intelligence and automated services (RAISA) in hotel companies.

Design/methodology/approach: A two-step approach was applied in this study. First, the authors make a theoretical overview of the robots, artificial intelligence and service automation (RAISA) in hotels. Second, the authors make a detailed overview of various case studies from global hotel practice.

Findings: The application of RAISA in hotel companies is examined in connection with the impact that technology has on guest experience during each of the five stages of the guest cycle: pre-arrival, arrival, stay, departure, assessment.

Research implications: Its implications can be searched with respect to future research. It deals with topics such as how different generations (guests and employees) perceive RAISA in the hotel industry and what is the attitude of guests in different categories of hotels (luxury and economy) towards the use of RAISA. It also shows what is the attitude of different types of tourists (holiday, business, health, cultural, etc.) and what kinds of robots (androids or machines) are more appropriate for different types of hotel operations.

Practical implications: The implications are related to the improvement of operations and operational management, marketing and sales, enhancement of customer experience and service innovation, training and management.

Originality/value: This book chapter complements and expands research on the role of RAISA in the hotel industry and makes some projections about the use of technologies in the future.

Retailers are increasingly using self-service technologies to improve customer experience and reduce costs. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that could explain the level of continuance intention of mobile self-scanning applications in retail. Based on previous theoretical streams, the present study integrates technology readiness (TR) and service quality into the technology acceptance model.

Using data collected through an online survey of 217 users of a mobile self-scanning application of a large supermarket chain operating in Portugal, the study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate that the continuance usage of the self-scanning apps is directly driven by users' satisfaction and perceived usefulness. Findings also show that TR has a positive and significant impact on ease of use and perceived usefulness. Ease of use has a positive impact on users' satisfaction and perceived usefulness but has no direct effect on the continuance intention to use the application. Perceived quality has a positive direct effect on satisfaction and a positive indirect effect on continuance intention. Finally, need for interaction has a negative effect on TR.

This work contributes to a better understanding of the emerging market for mobile self-scanning applications in retail applications, particularly relevant in a digital transition context.