The Co-operative Food to offer customers greater service through next generation self-checkout

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: The Co-operative Food to offer customers greater service through next generation self-checkout.

Wincor Nixdorf, the retail and banking solutions provider, has announced that The Co-operative, the national food retailer, has chosen to implement the CINEO self-checkout solution in its high street stores and local community locations across the UK. The next generation self-service solution is expected to reduce queue times, improve customer service and provide the retailer with efficiency savings from cash recycling. Initially, the checkout terminals will be rolled out in 12 stores, with four in each, with the ultimate goal to have the CINEO system in place in 30 stores by the end of the year.

"Cash recycling was one of the key factors in selecting Wincor Nixdorf due to the efficiency it can bring to us," says Mark Hale, The Co-operative Food's CIO and Supply Chain Director. "In addition, the solution will enable us to further improve the customer experience. With the CINEO self-service solution, we are continuing to develop the checkout options available to customers and effectively responding to customer demand for greater choice and higher levels of service."

The retailer wanted a new generation of terminals with comfortable features, such as large touchscreens and cash hoppers to accept both coins and notes. With CINEO customers will no longer have to insert coins and notes separately as cash is counted automatically, saving the customer time at the checkout and further helping to reduce queue times. The Co-operative also wanted to address customer feedback and use a solution that would be easy to use and deliver value in the long-term.

Cash and cards are both accepted by the terminals and currently, about two thirds of the retailer's customers pay in cash and one third with cards. The solution will allow The Co-operative to continue to offer customers a greater range of choice and even more effectively manage increased customer footfall at peak times. The Co-operative is also testing a card only option in order to see how it is taken up by customers.

"We are delighted to be working with The Co-operative on the next phase of their self-service technology and to be further developing their customer service offering," commented Ed Brindley, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Wincor Nixdorf. "The newest generation of self-service points are quicker and easier to use for customers than ever before and improved efficiencies for cash recycling can have a real positive impact for retailers that they will continue to see well into the future."