More than half of shoppers in Singapore and other Asian markets are interested in location based services in-store according to a study.

And, according to the annual Zebra Technologies Global Shopper Study, one in three shoppers believe they are better connected to real-time information than in-store associates.

The eighth annual installment of the Zebra Technologies Corporation Global Shopper Study found that shoppers are “very interested” in WiFi and location-based, in-store services such as mobile coupons (51 per cent), shopping maps (45 per cent) and associate assistance (41 per cent).

With higher customer expectations, retailers acknowledge that the role of technology has never been greater.

“As online and mobile shopping become more prevalent and accepted worldwide, the importance of the customer experience remains high – as noted by the majority of respondents who would buy more merchandise from retailers they believe provide better customer service,” said Nick D’Alessio, global retail solutions development with Zebra Technologies

“Mobile technology helps provide real-time visibility of product availability, flexible delivery and payment options – freeing retailers to focus on the shopper experience and delivering personalised service to customers.”

Nearly 2000 shoppers were surveyed in the US, Canada, Singapore, China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, England, Italy, Spain, France and Germany.

The study identified that more than one-third of shoppers (34 per cent) believe they are better connected to real-time information than in-store associates. And 64 per cent of shoppers would be willing to purchase more merchandise if they received better customer service and over one-half (52 per cent) value retailers who use technology to make the shopping experience more efficient.

Fifty-two per cent of shoppers “show-roomed” or looked at items in-store but purchased them online.

More than three in 10 shoppers would prefer to go to a retail store to pickup items purchased via online or mobile channels.

Retailers can recover 66 per cent of out-of-stock incidents by offering shoppers an immediate discount.

Nearly eight in 10 respondents are willing to share some level of information with retailers. But, retailers rank low on the list of institutions that shoppers trust with personal data as only five per cent reported they completely trusted retailers.

Sixty-four per cent of shoppers value retailers who give the flexibility to control how personal information is used to tailor experiences.