We recently shared with you a true story about a customer who left the store without the chocolate bar he wanted to buy - because the wait in line was too long.

‍We checked with the industry sources and confirmed that (1) the problem exists, (2) it is a common problem, and (3) the industry attempts to solve it, with modern technology.

One of the examples of a convenience store with successful experience of technology integration is Maryland-based High’s. Their new store offers a variety of the most up-to-date technology options with the goal of making every shopping experience that much smoother.

Such solutions range from touchscreen ordering points to frictionless payment. The most recent update is the addition of self-checkout kiosks and mobile ordering through the High’s Rewards app, which allows customers to choose the payment experience they find most convenient.

Customers can skip the line and check out at any point during their visit.

Imagine if this was the case for the c-store where John stopped to buy a chocolate bar for Jane? He would have quickly bought the chocolate and kept the family bliss intact!

Or would he?

Not everyone likes interfacing with automated sales kiosks, and not everyone uses mobile apps for ordering their purchases. Even though the percentage of technology-friendly customers grows, there’s still a stubborn bunch that prefers human interaction.

In order to correctly make the important decision about substantial investment in sales point automation, it helps to Know Your Customer. What is the age distribution of the population in the adjacent area? What is their educational level? These factors, in addition to income, gender and other variables, all contribute to the degree of successful acceptance of the new technologies by your store’s customers.

Further, while these wonders of modern technology mitigate the problem, they don’t eliminate it. You still need to align the staff management and inventory management with the expected number of customers - which fluctuates seasonally, intraday and intraweek in tandem with the traffic flow fluctuations.

Ticon provides this data, along with all-important traffic flow information, in our C-Site Insight^TM analytical report. You can get a sample copy of it here. Or, contact us at info@ticon.co to start a dialogue about your particular needs and challenges.