Brits still value personal touch and experience when buying products

British people would prefer to have the human touch and experience rather than clumsy interactions with technology, according to research into the nation’s buying habits.

The findings of the survey of 2,000 people help reinforce the suggestion that automated-advice may not be such a welcome development in the mortgage market.

Although largely focused on the retail environment, it revealed that despite living in a world driven by technology, most people did not want to lose out on human opinions and experience.

Just nine per cent said they would enjoy being served by talking robots in store while 27% would feel very uncomfortable having a conversation with a robot or artificial intelligence-based device.

This was highlighted by 59% agreeing they would rather speak to a person to find out more information about a product.

Go the extra mile

When considering what made a great shopping experience, 49% of those polled by Gekko said it was down to having good staff, with 47% adding that staff who went the extra mile made it special.

A third also said they were more likely to buy again from a shop if they’ve received the personal touch, and more than a fifth claim they always spent more money in a shop if they were served by a good assistant.

When things go wrong having good people in the business also proved valuable with 61% preferring to deal directly with someone when making a complaint and 73% when trying to get a refund.

To read the full article visit Mortgage Solutions.

To find out more about our 'Service not Sci-fi' research please visit our Research page.