Bigger baskets or smaller margins? What scan-and-go really means for retailers

New research finds that in-store scanning apps drive more spending on big-ticket goods but cut back impulse buys, raising questions for retailers in their busiest season.

Retailers look set to unwrap an early holiday gift. New research shows shoppers using scan-and-go apps are poised to spend more overall — a trend with clear implications for the crucial holiday season. But the boost comes with a catch: Fewer impulse purchases of snacks, flowers, and other spur-of-the-moment treats that line cash registers.

The unpublished study finds that the technology — which lets customers scan items, read reviews, and pay without queuing — encourages shoppers to push toward bigger baskets, higher-priced products, and greater variety, while reducing those unplanned extras.

Already in use at retail giants including Walmart and Carrefour, the technology was shown in the research to need changes in store layouts, product placement, and replenishment. Those shifts carry clear implications for festive merchandising as stores prepare for their busiest season.

The holiday period falls in the "golden quarter" — October through December — when Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas drive the year's highest levels of consumer spending.

How the numbers stack up

That makes the trade-offs from scan-and-go especially important. "Retailers need to evaluate the gains in high-value items against the losses on impulse goods displayed in store," says Zenan Zhou, the study's co-author and an assistant professor of supply chain management.

Forthcoming in the Decision Sciences journal, the study tracked 4,400 shoppers at a large Chinese retailer for 57 weeks between June 2017 and 2018. Those using scan-and-go apps splurged, with weekly order frequency up 16.3% and overall spending up nearly 22%. Spend-per-order shot up about 13%.

The effect appeared as soon as shoppers adopted the apps and persisted whenever they used them, suggesting the changes stem from the technology itself. The researchers ruled out other explanations: That users were simply bigger spenders to begin with, or that the results came from the ease of skipping checkouts — another perk of scan-and-go.

Confidence, categories, and the 'flashlight effect'

Instead, the evidence points to the role of product reviews, which eased shoppers' doubts and gave them the confidence to buy pricier items and branch out into new categories. Purchases of high-value products — the top 10% most expensive goods — rose by 4.3% in weekly baskets, while the variety of categories people bought from expanded by 4.4%.

However, there was a trade-off: Scan-and-go users bought about 6% fewer impulse items — such as music albums, flowers, and magazines — than other shoppers.

Even so, the study finds a net gain: Consumers spend far more overall when they use the technology. But the researchers warn that the drop in impulse buys could squeeze margins over time unless retailers rethink layouts and promotions to keep those products visible.

"If I scan a product, most of my attention goes to that one item. My shopping journey becomes more concentrated, but I miss the chance to purchase other products," says Tian Lu, an assistant professor of information systems and co-author of the paper.

The pattern was strongest among shoppers who spent more time on product pages or scanned more items, clear evidence that attention was being pulled away from impulse buys.

The researchers call this the "information attention reallocation effect": By focusing attention on scanned products, the technology diverts the gaze from surrounding displays. The authors liken it to walking through a store with a flashlight: In traditional shopping, everything is visible, but with scan-and-go, the beam falls on the scanned item, while the rest falls into the shadow.

Impulse no more

That shift matters because — generally — retailers rely on store design and merchandising to capture wandering eyes. If attention narrows to scanned items, it raises questions about how layouts and displays can continue to drive sales.

For the holidays, the stakes are even higher. The study did not examine seasonal shopping in isolation, as the dataset covered a full year of transactions. However, retailers typically rely on festive displays like chocolates, bouquets, and ornaments to drive last-minute purchases, the very items that scan-and-go pulls shoppers away from.

Rethinking retail for the golden quarter

As a result, the researchers say retailers may need to rethink how they spotlight such goods in stores where screens drive shopping. With attention fixed on scanned products, people are less responsive to the displays and promotions that typically drive impulse sales.

One practical step, says Lu, is for retailers to "keep close track of what products are scanned by customers and link that to inventory management and product assortment." That means monitoring which items draw attention in the app and making sure popular products are well-stocked.

From challenge to opportunity

It also opens up opportunities, as scan-and-go makes people more comfortable buying expensive items. That gives retailers a chance to promote premium goods, especially during the holiday quarter when shoppers are already spending more.

The researchers also point out that shoppers branch out into more categories when using these apps. Retailers can use that to their advantage with curated or themed displays that encourage scanning and discovery, such as holiday gift bundles.

Taken together, these findings point to a broader conclusion: Scan-and-go is more than a faster checkout. It restructures attention in the store, funnelling focus onto scanned products and away from impulse buys. For consumers, that means greater confidence and higher spending; for retailers, it is a double-edged sword.

The authors warn that while premium purchases rise, the decline in impulse goods could have long-term impacts on sales. Or another way to put it: Scan-and-go is like handing shoppers a flashlight; the challenge for retailers is to guide where that light shines.