Love it or hate it, the idea of self-checkout lanes in stores is certainly catching on. What's more, the results of a recent Cisco (News - Alert) study say that self-checkout likely won't be going away any time soon because there's a majority of users that love it rather than hate it. Perhaps more intriguing is that the numbers seem to be growing in support of the self-service concept.

The survey in question—the Cisco Consumer Experience Report—targeted a variety of shoppers of different age groups in different countries to produce its numbers, and what the survey found is likely having retailers take notice. For instance, 61 percent of global consumers are actually willing to shop at a store that has minimal human contact, that is, comprised of mainly vending machines and customer service delivered from a set of programmed kiosk stations. 52 percent of customers also prefer using self-scanning checkout stations over waiting in line for someone else to do the ringing up.

Younger shoppers were more in favor than older shoppers, and the numbers of approval decline based on age group. Out in front were Generation Y shoppers (here defined as 18-29 year olds, though that number changes depending on who is asked) at 57 percent approval, backed up by 55 percent of Generation X shoppers (30-49 year olds) followed by only 45 percent of baby boomers (50 and over). Basically, this shows that the shoppers coming up are more likely to approve of at least some level of self-checkout, so more of it is likely to arrive.

But Cisco's study didn't stop there. The study found that just over a third—34 percent—of shoppers were using multiple channels in shopping, with 23 percent of consumers doing research online before making a purchase at a physical location, and 11 percent engaging in “showrooming,” the practice of buying a product online after seeing it in a retail store. 43 percent of respondents were using mobile devices to check prices and product availability, while 57 percent favored using the touchscreen systems provided by the stores. However, this isn't a sign that stores should fire all the staff just yet; 58 percent of shoppers want help from an in-store associate when it comes to making purchases.

As for the idea of mobile shopping, consumers are starting to take on more retailer apps, but are doing so slowly. Fully 54 percent of shoppers turn to a mobile device when shopping, but only around half that number—27 percent—actually go to the retailers' apps for shopping. But apps are useful in other ways, as 56 percent use apps for price checking, 53 percent for finding sales and discount offers, 48 percent for scanning barcodes and 45 percent for checking product reviews. Perhaps most interesting is that consumers are willing to hand over some personal information in exchange for a better shopping service—49 percent will do so—but only 43 percent believe that retailers are doing an adequate job of securing that information.

Several clear paths emerge in terms of how to respond to the Cisco study, and wise retailers are likely already making plans accordingly. The better value proposition the stores can offer, in terms of not only goods available but the larger shopping experience, the better off these stores are likely to be even in the face of a down economy. There's plenty of room to improve, but it will be interesting to see just where the improvement goes.