Cash registers have been around for decades, but they’re also one of the most underutilized of the modern retail industry.
The cash register is the place where cashiers check customers’ IDs, swipe their credit cards and take payment.
Cash registers can be found in almost every major chain, from McDonalds to Walmart to Amazon.
In 2014, the National Retail Federation’s cash register survey found that just 11% of cash register users are satisfied with their experience with the cash register.
That’s far less than the percentage of cash registers in Japan and the United Kingdom, which both have higher percentages of cash-paying customers.
“Cash registers are becoming a major source of dissatisfaction,” said Brian Wieser, chief operating officer at the National Cash Register Association.
Wiesor said that the problem is most prevalent in cities, which tend to be more tech-savvy and tech-friendly than rural areas.
“There are lots of cities where it’s not uncommon to see people at the cash registers,” he said.
“It’s more about the fact that there’s not a lot of retail left.”
One solution to the cash-register problem?
More efficient payment processors that are more likely to accept cash.
“The idea that cash registers are a poor use of money is just not true,” said Wieso.
There’s also the problem of the customer. “
We think this could be a major improvement.”
There’s also the problem of the customer.
Wieder said that a lot can happen when you don’t pay your bill in cash.
He cited the experience of an elderly woman in Japan who paid her rent with a credit card, then paid with cash and got a bill.
That was a good idea, Wiesorsaid, but the elderly woman lost her wallet and it was later discovered that she had left the wallet on the table and left it there for several months.
“I don’t think she realized that this would cause problems, and so she had to get the wallet back and pay,” Wiesori said.
A lot of cash machines are located in a hotel, hotel restaurant or other service establishment.
In the future, Wiedor said, the industry could expand its focus to retail stores as well.
“Right now, there’s a lot more room for the retail to get into the cashless era, and we want to make sure that it’s a service-oriented industry,” Wiedo said.
A cash register might be more efficient than a cashier in a restaurant.
“One of the reasons we think there’s this mismatch between cash register usage and cashier service is that we think the cashier needs to do more,” Wysor said.
The problem is even more pronounced when cashiers are dealing with a cash-depositing customer.
“When you’re dealing with people who have their credit card numbers on file, you can easily forget that they’re there,” Woesor said in an interview with Fast Company.
Wieos says the problem in the future will be that the customer won’t be able to get their card numbers, and the cashiers need to remind customers that their numbers are in their file.
The solution?
“A cashier would have to do a little bit of re-training for the cash transaction, because they’re going to be dealing with this customer on a regular basis,” Wieo said in a phone interview.
“
So there’s going, as a result of this shift, there’ll be a lot less cash machines around.”