News

The high-tech way to order lunch meat comes to Bigg's

May 12, 2004

CINCINNATI-Bigg's Hypermarkets is using kiosks to help customers skip long lines at the deli, according to a story in the Cincinnati Post. 

Placed near the entrance, the kiosks allow customers to key in deli orders as they begin shopping.

Then the customers shop the rest of the store before picking up their orders. The new technology is already in place at three Greater Cincinnati stores in Eastgate, Mason and Florence, Ky and will be rolled out to additional stores this summer.

Florence store manager Dick Clark said roughly 35 to 40 percent of the deli customers have already used the kiosks.

"We want them to get in and get out -- it keeps them happier and maybe they'll buy more," he said. "Last week, we had 500 hits. We expect to get 700 to 800 hits a week in the next month."

The move should maximize convenience at the deli counter, a smart tactic because it's one of the only sections of grocery stores seeing unit growth and its profit margins are among the highest, said Jason Whitmer, an analyst with FTN Midwest Research in Cleveland.

Other supermarkets are tinkering with the concept in scattered markets, he said. "It's a nice thing that will at least help with efficiency," he said.

The kiosks, made by Dayton-based NCR Corp., comes at a time when the use of point-of-sale and cash register technology at grocers is stubbornly slow, said Jeff Embersits, an analyst with Shareholder Value Management in Los Angeles.

He said supermarkets desperate to compete with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have reigned in spending to keep costs low.  "Retailers need to upgrade but their spending has been very strict," he said.

The kiosks are a new move for Bigg's. While other grocers have tried to improve customer convenience with technology, Bigg's has traditionally been technology-shy.

"We've always closely scrutinized anything that would have raised the cost to our customers," said Mike Brooks, a vice president with Bigg's.  The Greater Cincinnati chain hasn't ruled out self-serve checkout lines in the future, he said, but for now sees the deli kiosks as a wiser investment.

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. alone has self-checkouts in 1,400 stores.

"We've found them to be very popular with our customers," said spokesman Gary Rhodes. "You can control how fast it takes to check out, and people like that."