The Missing Piece: Is Cash The Answer To Your Self Checkout Woes?

Even as self-checkouts become widely adopted by retailers, there’s an issue that prevents them from reaping all the benefits: not including cash acceptance in their machines. While there is a wave of consumers opting for cashless payments, cash remains relevant for many consumers.

What some retailers don’t realize is that cash isn’t going away – in fact, over a third of all transactions under $25 are done with cash.¹ But on top of its prevalent usage, accepting cash at self-checkout can help solve some common headaches for retailers including throughput, labor and security issues. 

Increase Store Output

Long lines have proven to be a consistent problem for retailers, leading many to turn to self-checkout as an easy solution to shorten lines, reduce cart abandonment rates and improve their customer experience. 66% of retailers even say that shorter lines are the largest benefit of adapting self-checkout . But when stores don’t accept cash at self-checkout,² lines at attended lanes will continue to be backed up with cash-paying customers.
 
With nearly 70% of Gen-Z using cash more than they did a year ago,³ it’s clear that cash isn’t going away anytime soon. When cash isn’t accepted at self-checkout, attended lanes run the risk of being overwhelmed – essentially eliminating the point of implementing self-checkout in the first place.

With a cash automation system, cash-paying customers can speed through the checkout lines with ease instead of waiting for a cashier. In turn, this increases a store’s throughput, allowing for more customers to checkout per hour and increasing the potential for additional revenue. Only accepting cards at self-checkout limits stores from reaching maximum throughput and reaping the full benefits of self-checkout.

Overcome Labor Shortages

Amidst nationwide labor shortages, retailers are scrambling to find any way to reduce labor hours and increase employee efficiency. Fortunately, self-checkout has been successful in doing so, with over half of retailers saying that it eases the burden of staff shortages.⁴

But while implementing self-checkout reduces the need for labor at attended lanes, cash-acceptance at self-checkout takes it a step further. Allowing the cash-using portion of a store’s customer base to utilize self-checkout lessens the need for additional labor to manage cash at attended lanes.

When cash-users aren’t relegated to attended lanes, employees can be redeployed to spend more time on the store floor directly assisting customers and doing other tasks like stocking and inventory. This doesn’t only boost a store’s customer experience – it presents an opportunity to increase revenue as well.

A consumer study showed that 43% of customers are more likely to purchase a product after engaging with a store associate. Freeing up employees to spend more time helping customers and less time at the cashier allows retailers to drive revenue while providing stellar customer service.

Decrease Theft and Fraud

Internal theft and fraud have become growing problems for retailers, with 74% reporting a rise in employee theft in 2022⁵  and 69% reporting increased in-store fraud. These issues often lead to shrinkage, directly taking away revenue from businesses.

Accepting cash at self-checkout can diminish theft and fraud by reallocating cash handling responsibilities to a cash automation system. With a secured automation system, employees are no longer directly handling cash, reducing the risk of internal or even external theft. This enables retailers to reduce shrinkage and avoid losing revenue to either of these threats.

Improving Efficiency With Paypod™

As self-checkout quickly becomes the norm in retail, utilizing a reliable cash automation solution is paramount to remaining competitive. The cash automation solution, Paypod™ Embeded, by Crane Payment Innovations offers a convenient way to pay with cash by creating an efficient cash acceptance process at self-checkout.

With a secure enclosure that reduces shrink by limiting access, Paypod™ Compact seamlessly integrates into existing POS systems to provide a smooth and painless cash payment experience for both retailers and consumers.

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¹49 Percent of U.S. Consumers Pay with Cash for Purchases Under $10 | San Francisco Fed (frbsf.org)
²100 Retailers Told us About Self-Service Technology Use in Their Stores (bluestarinc.com)
³Cash is King for Gen Z as Cash Stuffing Trend Catches On  - Intuit Credit Karma
⁴100 Retailers Told us About Self-Service Technology Use in Their Stores (bluestarinc.com)
⁵NRF | NRF Reports Retail Shrink Nearly a $100B Problem