By Bob Gibson, Cummins Allison
In the next three years, online grocery sales will grow at a compound annual rate of 21.1%, reaching approximately $18 billion by 2018.¹ In order to compete with this growing pressure from online shopping and delivery options, it’s important that traditional grocers focus on maximizing their customer service offerings and adding value to the in-store shopping experience. Implementing both front-of-store and cash-office technology solutions can help grocers achieve their customer service goals and reduce inefficiencies.
Exemplary Customer Service With Value-Added Technology
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For grocery stores to stay top-of-mind in a highly competitive market, it’s critical that they proactively implement technology that enhances customer service. Savvy grocers are bolstering customer experiences by leveraging front-of-store services and opportunities, which allows them to grab additional market share. And recent research indicates that 60% of retailers admit that their stores are lacking in providing a personalized customer experience, and 75% of retailers realize they lose customers due to wait-related issues² — and grocery stores are no exception to this trend.
Grocery stores have two distinct advantages over other self-service coin redemption sites: longer store hours and more frequent store visits. By offering the convenience of self-service coin counters in their stores, grocers can generate more revenue in a small footprint and serve customers better through speed and convenience, drawing in new customers and increasing the frequency of return visits. Additionally, coin redemption keeps cash in stores, and customers appreciate the convenience of redeeming coin and shopping in one trip – something not offered by online grocers. Self-service coin machines can also be a revenue generator for grocers.
By setting their own coin redemption fees, grocers can gain a valuable source of additional revenue — and customers feel that fees are justified by the convenience and features offered. Grocers should consider selecting a self-service coin machine that allows them to control the coin redemption fee for greater profitability. And selecting the right equipment and vendor is critical to make the process easy for grocers of all sizes to deploy self-service coin redemption, enabling them to select the option that’s right for their store and delivers the most profit per square foot.
Eliminating Cash-Office Challenges To Ensure Efficiency
Additionally, brick-and-mortar grocers need to ensure that their store is as efficient as possible — eliminating daily operational inefficiencies that could potentially impact the in-store customer experience.
Advanced technology such as automated cash drawer processing systems that count down and balance cash drawers, rebuild float amounts and set up tills create new opportunities for grocers to make better use of time spent in the cash office. Incorporating such technologies eliminates many of the inefficiencies associated with running a grocery business.
Any opportunity to save time comes as a major advantage for grocers and employees, and streamlining the deposit process can free up a significant amount of time in the daily schedule to focus on other important initiatives. Using a single platform device that counts and scans both checks and cash can lead to reductions in overhead spending that can be used toward efforts to improve in-store customer-facing projects.
Bob Gibson is Vice President of Branch Operations of Cummins Allison (www.cumminsallison.com), a leading global provider of coin, currency and check processing technology as well as ATM solutions, based in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. Contact him at gibsonB@cumminsallison.com.
[1] Business Intelligence Report, How e-Commerce is Finally Disrupting the $600 Billion-A-Year Grocery Industry
² Retail Industry Executive Survey. Timetrade. 2015.
