Time for a new tillpoint hero?

Shop counter with VDMS unit to rear

With the imminent tobacco display ban set to cause huge disruption for retailers, is it time that retailers started thinking about other uses for one of the most important parts of any store – the tillpoint?

by Antony Begley


New-style cigarette gantry with no items on display
The dark market brings with it questions over what retailers should do with their prime retail real estate

April 6th this year will mark a true end-of-an-era moment as every store in the UK covers up its tobacco gantry for good – which poses a new and very interesting question for retailers: now that you can no longer display it, is tobacco the best product to merchandise at the only place in your store that every single customer must visit?

What should be sold at the tillpoint is of course a question that has vexed retailers for many years. Thus far the tobacco giants and Wrigley have put up pretty solid arguments for the dominance of tobacco and gum as the natural tillpoint heros. But will the display ban signal and new turf war?

Manufacturers from countless categories have argued the case over the years for their lines to be stocked at the till – confectionery, e-cigarettes, collectibles, the list goes on – but few have made much industry-wide headway.

That debate is set to be re-ignited – and that’s why we have launched our King of the Till series of articles, giving manufacturers from various categories the opportunity to put their case forward.

Cigarette vending machines

Maintaining a dark gantry behind the till strikes many retailers as a waste of prime retail real estate: every customer sees that part of the store, so why use it for a load of beige, characterless shelves?

One very creative solution is an automated cigarette vending machine. A great example is the range of solutions provided by Vend Data Media Solutions (VDMS). We first came across VDMS as part of a planning exercise for Woodlands Local, our store in Falkirk.

VDMS unit getting restocked
VDMS vending unit allows stock to be replenished away from the bustle of the till point

The solution is ingenious in solving a number of very important challenges for local retailers. Rather than risk throwing the tobacco baby out with the bathwater, VDMS’s solutions aim to “future proof your tobacco business” and makes a strong argument for the importance of the role that tobacco will play in local retailing, even after the shutters come down.

How do they work?

The solutions provided by VDMS involve installing what is effectively a vending machine either in the same place as your tobacco gantry is now, or under the counter, below the tills.

Touch screen display showing various cigarette brands
Tobacco purchases are entered on a touch screen, with the product dropping from the machine

Both systems link with your EPoS system and are operated via your existing tills. Touch the tobacco button on the till screen and little images of every cigarette pack you sell pops up. Tap the pack you’re after and machine instantly dispenses the pack.

Some of the benefits are obvious, some are less so. And of course, this isn’t a solution for everyone. It is certainly an option to consider however, and over the next few months we’ll be considering a number of other options.

King of the Hill

The benefits of cigarette vending machines

 

Category control:
  1. All product selection is done via the till and is automatically recognised by your EPoS system.
  2. Shrinkage is eliminated because the only way cigarettes can be extracted from the unit is by tapping a button on the till.
  3. Access the unit for stocking purposes can be limited to designated managers.
Real-time data:
  1. Because the system links with your EPoS, it can produce real-time information on stock levels for all SKUs.
  2. Re-ordering processes can be hugely improved, reducing stockholdings.
  3. Out of stocks can be eliminated throughout automated reporting.
In-store communication:
  1. The unit carries advertising panels which can carry information of promotions or store news.
  2. This advertising space can become a source of revenue for the retailer.
Which options are available?
  1. A two door towerline system, as a direct replacement for a narrower tobacco gantry – 95 SKUs; 1,000 packs
  2. A three door towerline system, as a direct replacement for a wider tobacco gantry – 145 SKUs; 1,500 packs
  3. Under the counter Smokytech system – 95 SKUs; 1,000 packs
Summary
  • Security of staff and stock
  • Shrinkage eliminated
  • Step change in customer service and sales processes
  • Space released for other high margin categories
  • Store image and customer communication
  • New revenue stream from digital advertising
  • Better data and less time required to manage the category

 

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This publication contains images and information relating to tobacco products. Please do not view if you are under the age of 18 years old.

This website contains images and information relating to tobacco products. Please do not view if you are under 18 years of age.

This website contains images and information relating to tobacco products. Please do not view if you are under 18 years of age.

This publication contains images and information relating to tobacco products. Please do not view if you are under the age of 18 years old.