Retail News|January / February 2015|www.retailnews.ie|37
Retail Technology
We Need to Talk about Self-Checkout
CBE’s new convertible express checkout is ideal for convenience stores as it can convert from an express checkout to a self-service terminal in seconds.
SELF-checkout is not a new innovation to retail, but as a major component of the new omni-channel experience, it is becoming a ‘must-have’ element for stores rather than an optional ‘add-on’ as was the case in the past, according to Seamus McHugh, International Sales and Marketing Manager at CBE, Ireland’s largest EPoS solutions provider. Globally, over the last few years, the increase in self-service lane density and customer adoption has grown significantly. A number of UK and European retailers are moving to deployments of 70-85% of store lanes being self-checkout. This increase is being driven by the rapidly changing demands of convenience stores. As with most technologies, a onesize-fits-all approach is not advised. Working in tandem with their self-checkout provider, retailers need to undertake a thorough analysis of their operations. The results of this discovery phase should outline how many lanes of self-checkout are required, the positioning of these units and importantly, the type of self-checkout to install. Convertible Express Checkout There are a number of self-checkout solutions available, including the new convertible express model. The The new convertible express express convertible checkout from CBE: ideal unit is ideally for convenience stores.
suited to convenience stores, as the unit can convert from an express checkout to a self-service terminal in seconds. Although internationally, some operators CBE’s International Sales operate and Marketing Manager, all their Seamus McHugh. checkouts as self-service lanes, market research of the Irish retail landscape would suggest that stores integrate self-checkout technology along with manual checkouts in order to satisfy the needs of all prospective customers. Whilst there is compelling business rationale for introducing self-checkout, it is the enhancements to the customer’s shopping experience that has been the biggest success to date of self-checkout installations. By giving customers a choice, it has allowed retailers to build greater customer loyalty. Convenience retailers in Ireland that adapt to market demands and install self-checkout will benefit from first mover advantage and create significant benefits for their business. If you wish to find out more about CBE’s self-checkout technologies, call 1890 373000, email info@cbe.ie or visit www.cbe.ie for more information.
CBE has been trading in Ireland and the UK since 1980. In that time it has deployed over 30,000 terminals. Today, it is the largest provider of EPoS solutions in Ireland, and one of Europe’s most successful retail technology companies. Pioneers in the retail technology sector, CBE continuously spearhead software and hardware developments, which become industry standard. Indeed, CBE manages over 8m transactions every single day. Innovation is at the cornerstone of their business model. CBE was first to offer fully integrated EPoS solutions designed specifically for the forecourt sector, and is the leading EPoS supplier to the grocery and hospitality sectors. CBE is ISO 9001 accredited and supplies to all major symbol groups “At CBE, we are continuously making technological advances and adding new, intuitive features to our systems. We are able to do this because we employ the best in-house software engineers and because of customer feedback, which we actively seek out,” notes Seamus McHugh. “This feedback is paramount to our success in remaining number one within the industry.”