It’s 2022 and savvy retail owners have recognized the value of self-checkout technology and the benefits it will bring to their stores including:
- Easing labor shortage problems
- Improving the customer experience
- Increasing the bottom line
Now you need to consider how to deploy your self-checkout to best suit the needs of your stores and your customers; the remaining big question is—do you automate cash, or go completely cashless?
47% of all purchase values under $25 are paid in cash
You may be leaning toward cashless—it’s less costly upfront, and card payments seem more like “the future.” Let’s examine that assumption—can you get the full ROI you expect from your self-checkout without adding cash? First consider from the perspective of the speed of service; self-checkout will move your customers through the line faster and eliminate long lines at peak times of day. If you’ve only automated cashless payments you haven’t solved the complete problem, and will not be able to repurpose cashiers to take on additional store related tasks, like cleaning, stocking shelves, etc. Stores that struggle with staff shortages will find relief by allowing their customers to checkout without their assistance, ensuring only a few manager cashiers are required to ring up age-verified products and help customers with items that don’t want to ring up easily.
Next, think about your customer’s experience. For the average purchase in convenience stores, consumers overwhelmingly choose cash; 47% of all purchase values under $25 are paid in cash. The percentage of cash usage in your stores may be even higher given that the average c-store transaction is between $3.75-9.00; recent studies report around 40-50% of purchases are made in cash. In addition to preferences, the Federal Reserve estimates 20-28% of the population is currently “unbanked,” or “underbanked,” and do not have access to card payments. Cashless only self-checkouts could lead customers to perceive unfairness—why should they wait in line while the card paying customer can breeze right through? It’s up to the retailer to know their average ticket sale and customer demographic to make the right choice before going all cashless.
Card-only self-checkouts will still require a cashier to handle all cash payments, increasing the likelihood that lines will continue to be long at rush hour, and risk customers walking out without purchasing. 41% of customers will abandon their purchase if they see a long line, and one bad experience can sour customers on your entire business. Almost half of consumers avoid a specific store if they have to wait longer than 5 minutes. No one wants to lose business due to customer dissatisfaction, and these lines can be effectively eliminated by deploying cash automation with self-checkout.
41% of customers will abandon their purchase if they see a long line
Lastly, cashless processing isn’t always as cheap as it seems to be. There’s a good chance cash payments cost less as a percentage of your revenue than cashless. Driving customers to cashless may actually increase costs and negatively impact profit margins.
In order to fully reap the benefits of your self-checkout deployment you need to decide to include both cash and cashless payments. Cash automation makes it a well-rounded solution and delivers a superior ROI for your business.
Having a conversation with a well versed GAD Vending sales person can help you determine the optimal self checkout solutions for your business. Let us help today.
