Improving Convenience or Saving Face? An Empirical Analysis of the Use of Facial Recognition Payment Technology in Retail.

This article examines the adoption and use of facial recognition payment technology (FR) in offline retail self-checkouts, focusing on how social dynamics influence customer choices. Using transaction data from three retail chains in China, the study identifies two key effects: the social presence effect, where customers are less likely to use FR when more people are waiting behind them due to privacy and technology anxiety concerns, and the herding effect, where customers are more likely to use FR if preceding customers have done so. The research also finds that customers with greater prior experience using FR are less affected by social presence but experience no clear reduction in herding influence. The findings suggest that retailers and technology providers can enhance FR adoption by redesigning checkout environments to reduce social pressure and by encouraging initial use through incentives to build customer experience.