Canadian retailers have invested heavily in mobile applications, loyalty programs, e-commerce platforms and digital services designed to improve convenience and strengthen customer relationships. However, new research from Samsung Canada suggests consumers are experiencing considerable frustration managing technology, raising questions about whether some digital shopping experiences have become unnecessarily complicated.
According to Samsung Canada’s Productivity Gap research, released September 22, 75% of Canadians say technology helps them get things done faster, while 68% say it also gives them more to manage. The findings reveal a tension between the convenience technology provides and the additional tasks involved in managing multiple applications, information and digital communications.
Although the survey examined Canadians’ everyday experiences with technology rather than retail specifically, Samsung says the findings have implications for businesses developing digital customer experiences. The research was conducted through an online survey of 1,547 Canadian adults between August 31 and September 2, 2026, with results weighted by age, gender and region.
“More technology doesn’t automatically make the customer experience simpler. Apps, accounts and loyalty programs can all add value, but if each one piles on new tasks for the consumer to manage, the technology can start working against the convenience it was intended to create,” said Tarik Akad, Vice President of the Mobile Experience Division at Samsung Canada, in written responses provided to Retail Insider.
Retail Apps and Loyalty Programs Under Scrutiny
Retailers increasingly use digital platforms to encourage repeat purchases, deliver personalized promotions and connect physical stores with online shopping channels. Mobile applications and loyalty programs can provide benefits, including access to discounts, rewards and purchasing information, but they also require consumers to manage accounts, passwords and offers.
Samsung’s research found that 57% of Canadians agree the more digital tools they use, the more they have to manage. Meanwhile, 70% reported that searching for information they had previously received or seen creates unnecessary effort or slows them down at least a few times per week, while 62% reported similar difficulties when switching between applications or services.
While these findings do not specifically measure retail shopping experiences, they raise questions about the cumulative demands of managing multiple retailer accounts and loyalty memberships. A digital coupon, for example, may provide savings, but customers must first locate the offer, understand its conditions and ensure it is available when completing a purchase.
Akad said retailers should examine how their digital services work together and identify opportunities to eliminate unnecessary steps. He suggested evaluating whether applications make shopping easier, customer accounts simplify transactions and loyalty benefits are readily accessible.
For retailers, the challenge is ensuring digital services deliver sufficient practical value to justify the interactions they require. Ease of use deserves consideration alongside personalization, loyalty participation and other measures of digital engagement.
Notification Overload Raises Questions for Retail Marketing
Digital communications represent another potential source of customer frustration, particularly as retailers use email, mobile applications and loyalty platforms to deliver promotional messages. Samsung’s survey found that 77% of Canadians experience unnecessary effort or delays from managing messages and notifications at least a few times per week, although the finding covers digital communications generally.
“Every notification is a request for a customer’s attention, so it needs to earn that attention,” Akad told Retail Insider. He said businesses should prioritize the relevance and timing of communications, ensuring messages provide useful information without unnecessarily adding to consumers’ daily demands.
Personalized offers, loyalty reminders and promotional announcements can provide value when they address an immediate need, but frequent contact does not necessarily translate into a better customer experience. For retail marketers, the issue is balancing engagement objectives with the risk that excessive or poorly timed messages become another source of frustration.
Akad said retailers should consider whether each communication helps customers accomplish something or simply gives them another task to manage. That assessment can inform how retailers manage promotional frequency, notification preferences and the relevance of messages delivered through different channels.
Digital Friction Has Commercial Consequences
Independent research into e-commerce usability suggests complicated digital experiences can interfere with completed purchases. The Baymard Institute, which studies online shopping behaviour and checkout design, has identified required account creation and lengthy checkout processes among the reasons consumers abandon transactions.
In Baymard’s 2026 research, 18% of surveyed US online shoppers who abandoned purchases for reasons other than simply browsing cited required account creation, while 17% cited checkout processes that were too long or complicated. Although these findings are not specific to Canada, they illustrate how unnecessary requirements can become barriers during online purchasing.
For Canadian retailers operating physical stores and e-commerce platforms, similar usability considerations can extend across the shopping journey. Customers may research merchandise online, check store inventory, access loyalty benefits and complete purchases through different systems, with each interaction potentially requiring additional information or effort.
Improving the connections between those services could help retailers reduce customer frustration while making better use of existing digital investments. The opportunity is particularly relevant for businesses pursuing omnichannel strategies that depend on customers moving between online and physical shopping experiences.
Artificial Intelligence Could Reduce Repetitive Tasks
Samsung believes artificial intelligence could help address some of the frustrations associated with managing multiple applications and digital services. Its research found that 66% of Canadians selected at least one AI-enabled feature they considered potentially valuable for completing tasks with less effort, although the results do not measure actual productivity improvements.
Akad said AI could help make shopping feel less like a series of separate digital tasks and more like a connected experience. He pointed to opportunities for AI to assist consumers with product research, comparing merchandise, identifying offers and tracking purchases.
As these capabilities develop, they could help users move between activities without repeatedly searching for information or switching applications. Samsung is developing AI-enabled mobile features intended to make information and suggested actions more accessible across supported services, including its Now Nudge functionality.
The research also found that 58% of Gen Z respondents agreed they spend too much time completing manual steps simply to make technology work. Akad said the finding challenges the assumption that familiarity with digital technology necessarily means consumers experience fewer frustrations.
For retailers, the potential application of AI extends to improving how customers interact with existing digital services. However, adding AI capabilities will not necessarily resolve problems created by complicated account requirements, disconnected loyalty programs or poorly designed purchasing processes.
Making Existing Technology Work Better
Samsung’s findings arrive as retailers continue exploring AI, personalization and connected digital services to improve customer experiences. For businesses already operating multiple digital platforms, there may be opportunities to improve convenience through better integration and simpler interactions.
“Rather than adding more AI-enabled features for the sake of it, retailers should start with the customer need and work backward,” Akad said. His comments suggest that decisions about mobile applications, loyalty programs, checkout requirements and customer communications should begin with the tasks consumers are trying to complete.
Retailers can evaluate those investments against practical measures such as completed transactions, customer support requests, account participation and the steps required to access benefits. Identifying where customers encounter unnecessary effort could help businesses prioritize improvements to existing systems before committing additional resources to new features.
