Understanding Consumer Experiences with Invisible In-Store Digital Innovations: Insights from a Qualitative Study

Abstract

The retail environment has started to encompass invisible in-store technologies, such as RFID-based inventory management, AI-controlled lighting and sound, and sensing mechanisms for customer tracking. The ambience is such that these technologies work silently in the background to optimise the working manner of retail, maximize personalisation, and promote eco compatible practices. However, due to their invisibility, significant questions emerge about consumer awareness, perception, and agency. The study examines how shoppers in three major malls in India, Select Citywalk (Delhi), DLF Mall (Noida), and Ambience Mall (Gurugram), experience and interpret ambient digital technologies across three categories of retail: fashion, electronics, and groceries. A multi-method qualitative approach was employed to gather data through walk-along observations, sensory ethnography, and narrative elicitation of in-store experiences, involving 30 purposively selected participants. The data were analysed based on the ‘Grounded Theory Approach’ (Corbin & Strauss, 1990) and ‘Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis’ (Smith et al., 1999). The theoretical background comprises ‘Actor-Network Theory’, ‘Consumer Empowerment Theory’, and ‘Posthuman Retail Studies’, which enable the critical exploration of retail experiences as co-constructed by consumers and non-human technological agents. The study's findings suggest that some of the key drivers identified by the underlying factors include perceived shopping convenience, reduced waiting time, personalised product suggestions, perceived autonomy, improved store ambience, intelligent product access, and perceived environmental benefits. These factors convey a sense of seamlessness and store intelligence. On the contrary, the study also identified barriers, including low awareness among consumers regarding the backend systems, discomfort with invisible data collection, impersonal services provided through technology, distrust of algorithmic recommendations, and privacy concerns. Frequently, participants expressed a mixed bag of emotions by appreciating the convenience yet feeling somewhat uneasy about the mechanisms behind it. The study brings forth new knowledge about the affective and cognitive aspects of invisible retail technology, emphasising the need for transparent, inclusive, and ethically sound digital environments. The findings, however, are limited to the urban Indian context and recommend further studies from diverse cultural and demographic perspectives to enhance global understanding of consumer-tech interactions.