Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/803877
10 S C T / A P R I L 2 0 1 7 T E C H T H E C O M M O N A R E A S ilicon Valley security tech firm Knightscope's crime-fighting robots are helping retailers and landlords keep their properties safe. The firm says its clients, one of which is Stanford Shopping Center, in Palo Alto, Calif., have reported a variety of instances involving its 300-pound K5 security robots in recent months. Among the feats performed: assisting law enforcement in issuing an arrest warrant for a sexual predator; helping a security officer apprehend a thief in a store; aiding a corporation in tracking down a vandal; helping a real estate owner stop a fraudulent insurance claim; and assisting a health care organization to deter vehicle break-ins. n Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults have used a mobile device to order products that they then picked up in stores, according to the latest survey by ICSC Research on ways consumers are embracing technology. Categorized by age, 26 percent of Millennials (those 18 to 36) say they frequently buy their merchandise this way, versus 9 percent of GenX-ers (age 37 to 52) and 2 percent of boomers (53 to 71). No fewer than 90 percent of adults have used self-checkout lanes in stores, and 35 percent have used mobile payment options to check out, according to the report, titled Millennials Most Empowered by Retailer Technology. Smartphones are the product-browsing tool of choice for Millennials; 54 percent of them use smartphones, 39 percent use desktop or laptop computers, and 6 percent use tablets. Sizable numbers of GenX-ers and boomers prefer computers for merchandise browsing — 50 percent and 63 percent, respectively. Only a third of GenX-ers and 16 percent of boomers use smartphones for this purpose. Nearly three out of four U.S. adults have a retailer app on their mobile device — whether for a physical or an online-only store — and nearly half say they have between one and five such apps. Seventy-four percent report that they access these apps at least once a week. One-third of consumers have shopping center apps on their smartphones — and by generational category, these numbers are: 55 percent of Millennials, 33 percent of GenX-ers and 18 percent of boomers. Nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults have signed onto a mall's Wi-Fi service. The report is based on a poll of 1,022 adults, conducted Feb. 16–19 by ORC International on behalf of ICSC. n Steel security SMART SHOPPERS