Grocers' Adoption of Kiosks on the Rise
With speed and convenience a growing demand from time-pressed grocery shoppers, kiosks are becoming ubiquitous in the supermarket space.
“The increased popularity within the grocery channels is just the latest use-case for kiosk acceptance for in-store product experience and transactions,” says David Anzia, SVP of sales at Grafton, Wis.-based Frank Mayer and Associates.
Anzia’s firm teamed with The Kroger Co. to introduce Scan-Bag-Go kiosks in 400 of the Cincinnati-based grocer’s stores this year. This technology lets consumers scan barcodes using hand-held scanners or smartphone apps before heading to the self-checkout kiosks.
“We are a strategic partner who understands retail channels,” Anzia says. “We design customer-centric kiosks that elicit interaction. With technology moving at warp speed, we see projects from retailers and brands accelerating in 2018.”
Frank Mayer sees a more technology-driven experience for consumers in the supermarket arena that will include additional touchscreens and consumer engagement points within the environment, Anzia says.
“The engagement will not just occur when the consumer enters the store or checks out,” he emphasizes. “It will be immersive throughout the space.”
On the Money
Eden Prairie, Minn.-based grocery retailer/wholesaler Supervalu Inc. has selected Cummins Allison’s Money Machine 2 self-service coin counter and its associated coin redemption programs because of the flexibility, highly responsive sales and support, and opportunities to increase coin redemption revenue without increasing user fees.
Additionally, U.K. food retailer Tesco has installed 160 Money Machine 2 self-service coin machines in its smaller-format Tesco Metro outlets, notes Jim Weaks, VP of Mount Prospect, Ill.-based Cummins Allison’s self-service coin business unit, “increasing the profitability of their self-service coin program.”
Further, according to Weaks, Reasor’s, a grocer based in Tulsa, Okla., has experienced double-digit growth in its coin volume since installing Cummins Allison machines in its 19 stores.
“This increase is a direct result of a decrease in downtime with the Money Machine 2 machines, as compared to Reasor’s previous coin-counting equipment,” he says.
Coin redemption kiosks keep cash in stores, Weaks notes, and grocers can further tap into this by promoting store specials or high-margin items through on-screen advertising on the coin machines.