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Consumers demand more self-service options 4/3 Businesswire A growing legion of North American consumers use self-service in their everyday lives, & research from NCR shows an increasing % of individuals actually favor businesses that offer ‘do-it-myself’ options. The NCR Self-Service Consumer survey, by BuzzBack Market Research, reveals that 86% of US & Canadian consumers say they are more likely to do business with a company that offers the flexibility to interact using self-service - whether via the Internet, on a mobile device or at a kiosk or ATM. That’s an increase of 11% over those who gave the same response in last year’s study. 56% say their likelihood to use self-service has increased over the past year. ‘These survey results are symbolic of what lies ahead for self-service,’ said NCR’s Bill Nuti. ‘The self-service revolution is real: consumers demand it, businesses depend on it. Whether we are banking, shopping, traveling or interacting with a healthcare provider, more of us look for, & expect, self-service as an ‘essential convenience’ that improves our overall experience. Businesses & governments have only one choice, & that’s to offer more self-service alternatives - & to offer them across a spectrum of channels, including online, mobile & point of service.’ In addition to being more likely to do business with enterprises offering self-service, 66% of the respondents say the availability of self-service technologies creates a more positive perception of the deployer’s brand. ‘These factors – ‘likelihood to do business’ & ‘brand perception’ –have important implications for customer loyalty, which certainly deserves to be a key criteria for any organization’s self-service strategy.’ Consumers value the ability to use a combination of self-service channels – their PDA or cell phone, the Internet & touch points such as ATMs or kiosks – to improve their experience. For retail transactions, 97% surveyed would use a combination of such self-service channels to handle a transaction or service. The findings are similar for banking (95%), travel & hotel (94%) & healthcare (89%). Speed, convenience & ease of use are identified most frequently by respondents when asked why they would choose self-service over personal assistance in each of 4 industry sectors: financial (faster–70%, more convenient–67%, easier–52%); retail (faster–68%, more convenient–64%, easier–52%); travel (faster–63%, more convenient–61%, easier–60%); & healthcare (faster–53%, more convenient–50%, easier–47%). Among other factors consumers cite as reasons for choosing self-service are heightened privacy & greater control. This is especially the case in the healthcare industry, where 46% say privacy is a priority for their interest in using self-service. According to Nuti, these consumer findings suggest that despite accelerating adoption of self-service across a variety of industries, the true potential of the technology may still be untapped in many cases. ‘Businesses that will profit most from deploying self-service solutions are those that go beyond viewing it as simply task automation. The real payoff begins when enterprises use self-service to reengineer their business processes & customer service delivery & to transform their business models.’