Two-thirds of shoppers report that poor in-store service has led them to favour online shopping.

Even so, a study conducted by research company TNS Omnibus for Wincor Nixdorf, found there is much about buying in-store that still attracts shoppers.

“The ‘death of the high street’ is quite clearly not a reality,” said Ed Brindley, director of marketing at Wincor Nixdorf, which provides IT products to the retail and banking industries.

“Bricks and mortar will always be vital,” he said.

For instance, shoppers prefer manned checkouts (60 per cent). However, a third said they would leave if there was a long queue and more than half said they would queue for no longer than eight minutes.

“While online shopping is a growing force, it’s interesting to see that the majority of shoppers still prefer manned desks,” said Mr Brindley.

“In this sense, the high street is still very much king. Consumers want that personal service – the interaction between shopper and retailer. But similarly, they want to know that if there is a long queue, there will be options to speed up their experience.

“It’s all about finding the right balance between retail channels – successfully combining the likes of mobile and self-service with tradition point of sale.”

Although younger people were comfortable about mobile payments, 77 per cent of those questioned thought it might put their money at risk.

Said Mr Brindley: “As mobile technology becomes more widely used, confidence will grow but we must consider that self-service has been in place for many years, yet 60 per cent still prefer manned checkouts.”

He added: “The key is to make such technology advances simply part of the shopping experience – and part of the retail boom coming in 2012.”