One of the biggest pain area for a retailers & customers
is the long que they have to stand in before check out. Retailers have tried
improving every aspect of this to help the customer by increasing the counters,
speedy check out process etc. But none of these have help during the rush hours
and seasonal peak months.
Below are few reason identified which delay the checkout
1.
Long list of SKU (from a nail cutter to
travelling bag)
2.
Bar Code missing
3.
Customer not having change
4.
Making payments through card (card not working,
Uses another card)
5.
Vendor not having change (ends up giving
chocolate)
6.
Product discount not reflected in bill
7.
Last moment cancellation of product
8.
Last moment addition of product
9.
Argument or discussion with the check out guy
10.
Guy at the counter is not available
11.
Swipe the loyalty card to get points &
cashback
Oh my God! Let me come back and
shop later, I will buy from the local store, I will never visit a retail shop
during a festive offer day. I cannot wait in a que for a single product etc are
the reaction of your customer which will eventually hamper your business.
Have you noticed by people prefer online shopping? Quick & Convenient
All these and few smaller issue add to the problem and
spoils the experience of the customer waiting in que. Being one of the many
standing in that que I came with a concept of SWIFT SELF CHECKOUT ( SSC)
You must be wondering this would be a high technology driven
solution which will hit your P&L and impact of which is unknown. STOP. Let me
stop your imagination train right there.
APP. Yes that’s the solution simple, user friendly and
effective.
Let me make it simple for you
Now what? you must be wondering. So now he walks straight of
the store. No actually he does not. He has to go through the security check
just to make sure he is carrying only those products which he has paid for.
At the exit counter he displays the QR code of payment to
store Manager he quickly scans the products he purchased he cross verifies his
billing amount the amount that customer has paid. Once this tallies the
customer is happy to go. ZERO-time Lag at the counter.
Customer leaves happily. J
Wait the game does not end over here in fact it starts right
over here for the retailer.
If you are a retailer you know it better than me how badly
you wanted to know the below aspect of your customer
·
Who is buying (a kid, a girl, mom or dad or
grandapa)
·
what is he buying (Products)?
·
how frequent (Frequency)
·
when is he buying (time, day date, month or
season etc.)
·
how much (quantity)
All this information will help you understand your business
better SSC will enable you to have
more control with these metrics in your hand.
- You can push your product to the right customer
- You know if he buys such products
- You can perfectly cross sell him –with instore- offers using an app
- Rewards system can be automated
- Offers and discount can be personalized.
- Special offer to push a specific product to a new user.
- Scope is immense and the experience can be taken to a completely new level. You competitors will be your spectators and your customers will be your guest.
I hope retails like Future Group ( @kishore_biyani ), Reliance, D Mart and many others retailers find this exciting enough. I would love to hear your views and suggestions.
Please share if you liked my article.
You can also bother me on 8983079790 / palveakshay@gmail.com
