What Are the Benefits of Self-Service Payment Kiosks for Retail Stores?
Retailer businesses have multiple ways that they can accept payment, but more and more retailers are finding that self-service payment kiosks are one of the best choices. For retailers and customers alike, payment kiosks offer advantages over other processing methods.
Process More Customers During Peak Times
self-service payment kiosks allow retail businesses to process more customers during their busiest hours. Kiosks can be added if there aren’t currently enough cash registers, and adding kiosks doesn’t require remodeling like adding another register might. A payment kiosk can be placed wherever there’s a few free square feet of floor space.
For some businesses, being able to process more customers during peak times has a direct correlation to sales. Coffee shops and bakeries, for example, will have many customers forgo their morning treat if the line looks too long. Customers need a quick coffee or baked good, and don’t have time to wait.
Decrease Per-Transaction Processing Time
These kiosks also speed up how fast each individual transaction takes. Having kiosks readily available inherently encourages customers to use plastic, which is one of the fastest ways to pay. There’s no need to count change. (Of course, a cash register can still be used for the few customers who want to pay with bills.)
In a recent survey, 29% of customers reported that they preferred contactless payments. Contactless payments were defined as mobile wallets, QR code payments, and self-pay kiosks.
Capitalize on Impulse Buys
Because kiosks can be placed anywhere within a store, they can help capitalize on impulse buys. When customers have to walk to a cash register, every step they take between grabbing a product and paying is a moment when they might second-guess the impulse.
Placing kiosks immediately next to high-impulse products can greatly decrease the number of stems -- or time -- that customers have to change their minds. This can be especially effective for physically large stores, where customers must walk a fair distance before paying.
Partly because of impulse buys, kiosks can boost per-transaction value by up to 30% in some situations.
Improve Customer Satisfaction
When customers have convenient ways to pay, they’re happier about the shopping experience. Even what would otherwise be minor inconveniences can have an oversized impact, as customers are done shopping and sometimes fatigued by the time they check out. They want an easy way to pay for the products being purchased, and self-service kiosks offer one of the most convenient ways.
Even when kiosks merely make checkout lines seem quicker, customers still find the kiosks beneficial. According to one survey, 69% of customers said long checkout lines were the bane of their shopping experience. Watching digital content (usually on kiosks) made waiting in line more bearable.
Lower Staffing Needs
Because self-service kiosks take care of processing payment, retailers don’t have to schedule as many employees. A single kiosk can at least handle the same number of transactions that an employee running a cash register would (and the kiosk can likely do more). Stores thus don’t need as many employees running registers.
Reducing the number of employees needed at checkout counters has obvious labor cost benefits. The wages saved alone often outpace the cost of installing and maintaining a payment kiosk.
In the current economic environment, reducing the number of employees needed has a major added benefit. As many retailers are struggling to find enough workers for their available positions, kiosks can remove at least a few of the positions that have to be filled.
Get Payment Kiosks for Your Store
If your store is still relying on cash registers, contact us at Velocity Merchant Services to learn more about state-of-the-art payment kiosks. We have helped many retail businesses find custom payment kiosk solutions that benefit their business, and we have the expertise necessary to help you too. Get a free custom quote here.