MIAMI – “Technology will be the gateway for consumers on their retail trip,” said Dan O’Connor, president and CEO of RetailNet Group, at last week’s National Confectioners’ Association State of the Industry Conference. However, that technology could spell trouble for the candy category’s impulse-driven sales, Confectionery News.com reports.

O’Connor pointed out that already, about 50% of retail transactions don’t occur in traditional checkout lines. The overall checkout numbers breakdown as follows: 15% from out-of-store digital sales, 10% from online orders picked up at the store; 25% via mobile devices (click-and-buy transactions); and the remaining percentage in a regular checkout lane.

As technology continues to develop, O’Connor sees fewer in-store checkout lines in the future, which could hinder growth for candy, which has traditionally relied on its placement by checkout for sales.

Confectionery companies could struggle with reaching consumers in a digital environment because shoppers usually adhere to a list—and without the candy aisle by checkout to tempt them, might not add sweets to their catalog. “Getting new items on that list is very difficult,” said O’Connor. “Holidays and promotion are very difficult to do on the web,” he added.