It’s time for you to sit down and think of what instore services you could start offering customers… but don’t stress, we’ll give you a few tips.
According to results from surveys, shoppers now make 51% of their purchases online! With technology advancing, the internet has had a great impact on everyday lives with how we communicate, date, book trips and most importantly… shop! Shopping from the comfort of your own home has become a preferred option in many daily lives. This is why you need to offer your customers instore services that they cannot receive online to keep them coming back!
According to the Customers 2020: A Progress Report, the customer experience stands head and shoulders above price and product. It’s interesting to see customers becoming more focused on the service they receive and less about the price! We’re not saying customers aren’t cost conscious… they are, but by offering a ‘little extra’, (like an additional service) can really do some good for your footfall numbers!
A Coffee Machine
It’s the little things that count right? Of course within every mile you walk you’ll end up at a Costa Coffee, but don’t forget they are ridiculously expensive and always have long queues! Offering your customers a cheaper caffeine break will most likely put you at the top of their favourite shops list!
Imagine this: you’re walking to work early morning, it’s slightly dim lighted outside and -2 degrees. Your hands are frozen and you’ve still got a ten minute walk until you reach your destination, oh look…. there’s a coffee machine sign outside that shop, just what you need to warm you up!
Statistics show that 19% of shops have coffee machines available, which is extremely low! Get yourself one step ahead of the competition by providing your customers with a coffee machine service!
Slush puppy machine
We know what you’re thinking… that silly ice machine they have in cinemas? But you know what they say, don’t knock it before you try it! One Middlesbrough retailer took the chance and found that in a four-week period it took £6,200, with a 200% margin and that was whilst it was snowing. Imagine what it will be like in the summer!
Parcel/Postal Service
With more people shopping online, the amount of products returned has definitely sky-rocketed! Most returns get sent back via courier or post, especially if you’re trying to return the parcel to an online-only store. Stats show that 50% of stores now have parcel services or post office services available, which means you could be missing out on potential customers!
Within the report you can also see that a post office makes the most positive impact on local areas out of 14 types of service. Convenience stores come in close behind at number two, so could you imagine if you combined those, by adding a post office to your store?!
Lottery tickets
Who doesn’t love the lottery right? £2 for a ticket with the possibility of winning millions, how could you not? What shocked us is that 21% of shops still don’t offer the lottery in the UK, even though 70 per cent of UK adults (which is more than 32 million people) play the lottery on a regular basis!
Cash Machine
A cash machine is a healthy investment for a shop, not only does it increase your footfall but it benefits your customers. 76% of customers pay in cash, which means they need easy access to cash from somewhere local…. it’ll increase your footfall as customers will be coming in to use your cash machine. Once they’re in the shop with a wad of cash in their hand it becomes a challenge to resist purchasing that chocolate bar in front of them. Then before you know it they have a whole basket of goodies.
58% of shops now have ATMs, and all of them are seeing the benefits an ATM provides. Just check out what a couple of our customers have to say below (testimonials).
Mr. Thievanayagam Sivarajah, Nisa Local, Orton
“There has clearly been a 10% footfall increase since the ATM was fitted. The machine is very important to the store and has helped to increase my profits.”
Alan Costello, Costcutter, North Strand, Dublin
“As a business, we need to be savvy around costs and the YourCash ATM is cutting our cash lodgement fees by €1000’s per annum. Having an ATM in the community has also encouraged new customers to my store and i’m just please to offer a new service that not only helps my customers but improves my bottom line.”
If you want to know more about how an ATM can benefit your shop, just check out this blog.
Or if you’ve already made your mind up and you’re interested in adding a cash machine service to your business, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to book an appointment for you to meet one of our team!