Checkout friction. It makes wait times longer than necessary, confuses and frustrates consumers, and can diminish a retail brand’s reputation. But solving for frictionless checkout is an opportunity for independent software vendors (ISVs) to grow their businesses by eliminating a long-time pain point and increasing the value they offer their markets.
Philip Tierney, Product Manager at Epson America, Inc., points out that there are two general areas where retailers and grocers need better solutions to decrease checkout friction, and we found research that confirms them:
- Long Lines at the Checkout
Queue Away, a virtual queue and queue management system provider, reports that the average wait time in U.S. retail stores is between six and 12 minutes. Unfortunately, that research also found that retailers start to lose revenue after five minutes of wait time, when 58% of customers consider leaving the line. And if customers have to wait 10 minutes, 82% will walk away.
- Inconsistency Across Customer Experiences
Salesforce reports 75% of consumers expect consistent experiences wherever they choose to interact with retailers. Salesforce analysts also point out that if retailers don’t meet this expectation, they can lose business: 70% of consumers say technology has made it easy to “take their business elsewhere” if customer experiences don’t meet their expectations.
In-Demand Solutions Targeting Checkout Friction
Tierney says ISVs can help retailers ready to remove the friction from checkout by providing solutions that achieve these objectives:
Creating Consistent Brand Experiences
Autonomy and speed enhance shopping experiences. Retailers can offer self-checkout to let customers avoid lines and have more control over their shopping journeys, particularly if you provide them with reliable, user-friendly systems with features that minimize shrinkage. Additionally, sales associates with mobile devices can provide on-the-spot assistance, complete transactions, and provide receipts as soon as customers make their purchase decisions.
Tierney says, however, as checkout options increase, retailers need to ensure that customer experiences across different types of lanes and in all stores across the enterprise are consistent. “Consistency plays a big role in brand perception and loyalty,” he explains. “The point of sale experience should be designed through the lens of the customer. Mobile POS or self-checkout needs to follow a similar structure as an assisted checkout, totaling the sale quickly, accepting the same types of payment methods, and systematically printing receipts.”
Tierney comments, “There is a trend for enterprises to standardize on hardware and software to allow store employees to create consistency, whether customers are checking out at the counter, on mobile, or at a self-service kiosk at any one of their stores. Retailers need innovation and flexibility to achieve this, and that’s the challenge for ISVs.”
Creating a Single Checkout Flow
Another way to remove checkout friction is to reduce the number of steps in a transaction. Customers may have to unload a shopping cart onto a counter, scan items at a self-checkout or with a cashier’s assistance, enter loyalty program information, claim offers or discounts, select their payment method, and maybe even take a brief customer satisfaction survey.
Tierney says ISVs can orchestrate processes that combine applying discounts, claiming loyalty rewards, and initiating a payment, all in a single flow or collaborate with the retailer’s team by providing tools and new capabilities. He adds, though, that shoppers may find that self-checkout or mobile checkout doesn’t offer the same smooth processes available at an assisted checkout, which represents another opportunity for ISVs.
He adds that some retailers are exploring the value of cashierless technology. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on products allow smart carts or mobile devices to total purchases as customers shop and send a receipt to the customer’s app when they leave the store. ISVs can develop solutions that integrate loyalty, discounts, and other steps in a transaction to create truly frictionless checkout.
Providing Proof of Payment
Part of achieving low checkout friction is finding a practical way to provide customers with receipts. Tierney says that although some retailers are offering the option of digital receipts, paper receipts remain essential. They’re a foolproof way for customers exiting a store to show proof of payment, even if their smartphones need charging or if they’re in a part of the store where Wi-Fi or cell service is unreliable. Some customers rely on paper receipts for expense reports or accounting, and others want physical gift receipts they can give to recipients.
Tierney says that seamless experiences across all point of sale options require reliable printers with flexible designs. ISVs should partner with printer manufacturers and integrate their software with models that can be installed under a counter or on a wall. Also, look for printers with reliable connectivity options, including connecting to a tablet or other mobile device, so staff can easily print receipts when line-busting or offering in-aisle assistance.
Tierney says ISVs can add value to their solutions by integrating with printers with paper-saving features, like those from Epson. With these printer models, retailers can shrink the size of the receipt by up to 49%, allowing retailers to reduce paper use without distorting receipt layout, cut costs, and minimize paper roll changes, allowing staff to focus more on serving customers and running operations efficiently.
Takeaways for ISVs
Tierney says that ISVs who recognize the demand in their markets for frictionless checkout solutions across all points of engagement can gain an edge in their markets. “Scalability, cost reduction, and minimizing complexity are all areas of improvement that retailers are looking into,” he adds, “They want to give their customers the greatest flexibility and clean, consistent checkout experiences.”
“Partner with a hardware provider that equips your retailers with reliable and flexible solutions,” he says.
