News

Getting the knack of NACS

I realized talking with vendors at the show that their message has to be very focused in making the business case for self-service in a c-store.

October 15, 2003

While I was walking the show floor at NACS in Chicago's McCormick Place this week, I was amazed by the number of things clamoring for the attention of convenience-store operators and other retailers.

From lighted suckers to Playboy bunnies hawking their magazines to miles of modular shelving, NACS had it all. It was a huge show, full of fun, bright, exciting items. And there were a handful of kiosk vendors there in the midst of it all. I realized talking with them that their message has to be very focused in making the business case for self-service in a c-store.

If a kiosk company can't talk technology that will generate revenue, be easy to train staff on, and be extremely simple for customers to use -- all in a square foot of space -- they aren't going to get in the door of most c-stores. This is a market that literally needs to justify every inch of space it uses.

Chris Zimmerman, editor

Looking for help

And this is also a market that is struggling. According to the 2003 NACS state of the industry report, a slight increase in overall sales in 2002 couldn't hide the fact that, for the second consecutive year, per-store profits for the U.S. convenience-store industry plunged more than 24 percent. Store operating expenses increased 4.1 percent in 2002.

Not surprisingly, c-stores are looking for ways to boost convenience and speed, along with customer satisfaction. And they are searching for ways to improve the efficiency of their workers. That's where there is great potential for kiosks and self-service. But again, that's as long as the business base is clear. Here are some good examples from the show floor:

Pro-Tech was showing its rugged, outdoor unit with a 15-inch touchscreen. The company is in tests right now with several c-stores, allowing customers to select and pay for fast food while they are at the gas pump. They then walk to a window to pick up their food.

Intermedia, which supplies the software for the deployment, was sharing a booth with Pro-Tech.

"There is real ROI for c-stores. People usually pay at the pump and then they're gone. Kiosks keep them around a while and increase their purchases," said Peter Kaszycki, president of Pro-Tech.

I talked with Doug Henderson, director of product sales for Radiant Systems, about the customized hardware and software his company provides to several c-store operators for taking fast-food orders.

Kiosk Information Systems displayed its new QPIX-2000 Digital Photo and Film Processing Center from TouchPoint Solutions Inc. The new c-store unit is a self-contained, photo-finishing station. It is compact, and features a scanner, touchscreen, and high-speed photo printer. Powered by TouchPoint's Catapult software, it also offers a credit-card and cash-processing vending machine.

NCR was touting its lottery ticket-purchasing function recently added to the FastLane self-checkout. The company showed a "mini" version of the unit for c-stores.

Coinstar introduced its new Top-Up Kiosk, which offers a range of services like self-serve bill payment, prepaid cash cards, cell phone mobile content, online computer game time, prepaid wireless and long distance, and prepaid Internet.

This week Info Touch, which has a strong c-store presence, expanded its offering to retailers by announcing that it has paired up with EWI Prepaid. Through the partnership, Info Touch has integrated EWI's PinXpress payment-processing solution into its proprietary kiosk security and management platform, Surfnet Premiere. Prepaid services at kiosks is a huge app for the c-store industry.

Through these announcements, it's becoming clear that self-service companies are learning to make the business case for convenience.

[Editor's note: Info Touch Technologies became Tio Networks in April 2006.]