Today, we live in a world where our lives have become fast-paced. We don’t like to wait even for a few minutes. Due to this, we are witnessing the rise of online shopping, where customers can buy items in a jiffy without waiting in long queues. And this is also the reason why we are seeing a major decline in the growth of brick-and-mortar retail stores.
To compete with ever-efficient and convenient online shopping sites, brick-and-mortar retail stores must reinvent their offerings. In the recent past, scan & thru solutions have emerged as a savior for brick and mortar retail stores.
Scan & Thru is a cutting-edge self-checkout system that makes shopping easy, fast, and secure. This system eliminates and eradicates all the cons of retail stores that were previously causing a hurdle in offering rich shopping experiences to their customers.
Scan & thru technology is transforming the shopping experience globally with its advanced features and cutting-edge technology.
In this blog, we will dive deep to understand what is Scan & thru system is, how it works, what are their features, and what are benefits it provides to retailers and customers. But before that, let’s look at the stats associated with Scan & thru systems.
What stats say about Scan & Thru?
According to a report from Juniper Research, the value of transactions processed by frictionless smart-checkout technology will reach up to US Dollars 387 billion by 2025.
The report also says that most retailers rely on AI, such as smart-checkout technology, to improve their shop/store efficiency. And the drive for efficiency will lead to retailers making investments in such technologies of over USD 23 billion by 2025.
Amazon Go has now set the precedent for cashier-less stores and it has a vast potential to disrupt the entire brick-and-mortar landscape. As per the survey by Anyline, around 77% of American shoppers are more willing to visit stores with scan and go option.
A study by PYMNTS suggests that self-checkout payment solutions are more used for shopping for groceries and pharmacies. The below graph shows the share of reasons why consumers prefer self-checkout in retail, grocery, pharmacy, or other in 2021.
Even a Juniper report from Future In-Store Retail Technologies found that more than 32 million shoppers will use self-scanning apps like Scan & thru solution which is an alternative to ‘Just Walk Out’ technology, in the upcoming year, 2023.
According to a study by Raydiant, it was found that 60% of consumers prefer self-checkouts over store associates. And 85% believe strongly that self-checkouts are typically faster than waiting in line.
The study also stated that almost 73% of people believe that Scan & thru self checkout payment solution used with smartphones, is more convenient and comfortable.
Challenges associated with traditional checkout & billing
There are a lot of challenges associated with traditional checkout & billing systems which the Scan & thru solution aims to resolve. Let’s have a look at these challenges one by one.
Faulty machines
Many a time, there is a faulty machine at the checkout, which takes more time than usual to finish the checkout process. The faulty machines also slow down the entire checkout process and increase the waiting time in queues.
Human errors
To err is human. It’s almost impossible to eliminate human error in any field, including checkouts at retail stores. Incorrect calculations and errors in scanning and registering items are some of the most common examples of human errors that occur at a retail store. These human errors often cause time consumption and affect the shopping experience of customers.
Issue of finding change
We all know that cash payments make the checkout process slower. Furthermore, cash payments also involves issue of change where the cashier or customer has to give the exact amount of cash which is not possible most of the time.
Inflexible payment methods
Payment methods being cumbersome is also a major reason for slower checkouts and billing processes. Payment methods that involve cash or card are generally the ones that cause the problem as they are slower and more challenging to execute than in-app payments.
Read More: Offer seamless top-up and bill payments with DigiPay.
Longer waiting times
A traditional checkout and billing process comes with many hurdles. These hurdles ultimately impact the waiting times of customers in the queue.
Moreover, these queues become even longer and occupy a lot of space during peak hours which causes congestion along with restricting other consumers from entering the store.
All these factors ruin the shopping experience of a consumer. That’s why stores must reduce the waiting times in queues if they don’t want to lose their consumers.
The COVID-19 threat
The COVID-19 pandemic has also posed several challenges to traditional checkout counters. It’s because the conventional process of checkout and billing involves a lot of physical contact, which increases the possibility of virus transmission from one shopper to another.
Furthermore, due to long queues and congestion during peak hours, maintaining social distancing becomes almost impossible.
How Scan & Thru does works
Scan & thru technology is designed specifically in such a way, that it makes the shopping experience faster, rich, and more convenient for consumers. Just like the barcode technology which disrupted the efficiency of retail stores in the early 80s, Scan & thru is the next obvious step for revolutionizing, enhancing, and streamlining the retail store experience for consumers.
In the initial deployments of Scan & thru technology, shoppers used to carry a handheld scanner all around the retail store with them. But this mobile-based scan-and-go solution enabled shoppers to get rid of the lengthy checkout process.
Instead, they can simply scan each item customers intend to buy and put it in their cart. All the scanned items are added to the virtual cart, and the corresponding amount is deducted from the user’s wallet account.
Scan & Thru solutions are not devoid of their flaws and challenges. It’s because retailers still have to make space for handheld scanners. Although, the new age Scan & Thru technologies resolve this issue. This is because the new generation of Scan & Thru solutions has replaced handheld scanners with smartphone devices.
The typical user journey of the Scan & thru solution is very easy to understand. Firstly, the user downloads a Scan and thru app of a retailer on their smartphone device. After that, they link it to their payment card.
Once that is done, the user enters the retail store and starts scanning items using his smartphone’s camera. These items get added to the virtual cart as they while scanned. And when the user finishes shopping, they can pay for all the scanned items via in-app and walk out of the store.
Factors to consider before installing Scan & Thru solution
Scan & thru technology is very beneficial to improve retailers' scan and go apps experience. However, retailers must consider the below factors before installing the Scan & thru solution in their stores.
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All the self-checkout systems including Scan & thru, are susceptible to the risks of theft. That is why it becomes essential to eliminate this risk with efficient security and random checks.
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Not all customers are tech-savvy. There might be many customers who might not know how to make payments via their smartphones. This is the reason why you must educate these customers as to how scan & thru payments works and what are its benefits.
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Scan & thru technology minimizes human interaction, which many customers like. However, few customers prefer interacting with people. So you must train your staff to be easily approachable. Moreover, you can also add an option in the app where the customers can ask for help from the staff if needed.
Major Features of Scan & Thru technology
The thing which makes the Scan & thru solution such a success is its cutting-edge features. Let’s look at the major features of Scan & thru, one by one.
Auto-synced product catalog
This feature takes all the data from the site and synchronizes it with the application in real-time. Thus, it ensures that all scanned product information is always synchronized.
Store locator
This feature is useful for retail stores with multiple branches in the city. With this feature in place, users can locate the nearest stores by getting accurate directions on their smartphones.
Compatibility with multiple devices
Scan & thru solutions are device-agnostic as they are compatible with multiple operating systems. This feature enables retailers to use any device for accessing the Scan & thru solution.
Scan items
Scanning items are the major feature of the Scan & thru payment solution which enables customers to add items to the cart by simply scanning items using the application.
Enter code
If some items in retail stores do not have barcodes, it would become impossible for the users to add them to the cart. This issue is resolved with a feature in the solution which enables users to manually enter the item code in the system and add them to the cart.
Review cart
This feature enables customers to view the contents of their cart. This helps them see if they have everything which they want to buy. They can also check if they have entered the correct quantity of items or not. Furthermore, they can move out items they no longer intend to buy.
Proximity-based advertising
It is an advanced feature that allows retail store owners to notify their customers about their presence. With this feature in place, retail store owners can send a push notification to the customers whenever they are close to their store. With this push notification, retailers can show various offers that attract customers to enter the store.
Loyalty & rewards
Scan & Thru payment app can become a handy medium to create and offer various loyalty & rewards programs. Retailers can offer these reward programs to increase customer engagement and retention. They can also attract new customers with a referral scheme.
Read More: How to cash in with customer loyalty programs on your mobile wallets
View invoice
Once the user completes the payment, an invoice is generated with a dynamic QR code. This QR code is used as an exit scan to verify the purchase made.
Top benefits of Scan & Thru
Scan & Thru solution offers benefits for both retail store owners as well as customers. Let’s see what these benefits are in detail.
Cost Savings
With Scan & thru solution, retailers can remove tills in their stores. With tills out of the equation, retailers now don’t have to bear additional costs on ongoing licenses, maintenance, running costs, etc. Furthermore, retailers can also deploy personnel required for operating tills on the shop floor to increase resource utilization and enhance the shopper experience.
Also, since the Scan & thru solutions are cloud-based, their maintenance can be cost-effective, and the troubleshooting can be remote. Moreover, digital receipts within the app eradicate paper receipts and their costs.
Improved efficiency
For a long time, customers have been demanding a frictionless experience at stores that enables them to shop and pay quickly. Scan & thru seamless payments have been providing an enhanced shopping experience by removing all the friction.
As already discussed above, the Scan & thru solution eliminates the need for tills, thereby creating more space in the store. This extra space can be utilized optimally to design the stores to attract customers and offer better experiences.
Vital shopper insights
Scan & thru solution also offers retail store owners vital shopper insights, shopping habits, and crucial data. For example, they can know which items are purchased the most or are mostly purchased together. Based on these insights, retailers can offer tailored experiences to all their customers.
Customer Empowerment
Scan & thru technology redefine the shopping experience for customers. It enables them to enter the store, scan items, make payments, and go out of the store. It is an automatic in-store payment system that makes it possible.
This simple process makes the shopping and payment experience extremely simple while eradicating interaction with retail executives and long waiting queues. With Scan & thru, customers spend more time shopping instead of waiting in long queues.
Loss prevention
Few retailers believe that installing a Scan & thru solution would make their store susceptible to thefts as it will make it easier for the thieves to drop an item into the basket without scanning it.
However, that’s not the case. It’s because customers have to set up their account and log into the scan & thru application. By this, they let the retailers know about their real identity. Thus, it lowers the chances of theft.
Real-time interaction with customers
Scan & thru technology is a great way to engage and retain customers. With this, you can offer loyalty and reward programs integrated into the Scan & thru solution. If the customers see value in these rewards, they will definitely choose to shop more at your store.
Manage slow movers
Scan & thru solution also enables retailers to promote slow-mover items or products close to their end dates. Furthermore, retailers can also upsell the products. Scan & thru technology helps retailers to reinvent their offerings in this era of online shopping.
Take the pressure off
The staff at the retail store face immense pressure during peak hours. Peak hours are stressful for both staff as well as customers. It’s more frustrating for the customers who have to wait in a long queue to buy only one or two items. This frustration often turns into bitter quarrels and verbal fights between customers and staff.
Implementing Scan & thru technology can ease this pressure for users and retail store staff. Moreover, it also increases revenue and decreases missed transactions.
Conclusion
After reading this blog, I know most retailers might have understood that Scan & thru solution is the future. Its cutting-edge technology empowers brick-and-mortar retail stores to offer a rich shopping experience to their customers. So, it's necessary for them to know how does scan and go work.
If you’re a retail store owner looking to offer a seamless shopping experience, you must go for DigiPay.Guru’s scan & thru solution. It’s an advanced solution that comes with all major features.
Furthermore, DigiPay.Guru’s reputation as a top-notch digital payment solution provider makes this solution even more enticing. So, what are you waiting for? Contact DigiPay.Guru and transform the shopping experience of your retail store forever.
