Checkout speed is especially important in the convenience category, and the implementation of an effective mobile checkout service will become increasingly important over time. There’s no question that Amazon’s Go format was a catalyst and the efforts by 7-Eleven will cause other players to step-up.

I think it’s as simple as taking a cue from how this category of stores is named — convenience. And the evolution of app-driven retail in China. Faster + easier = better. Period.

It’s time to put the convenience back into convenience stores. Making the shopper faster and smarter makes the experience better and will engender greater loyalty. This is a shrewd move that serves as a point of differentiation today (but likely will be a point of parity in the near future).

Speed and ease are paramount for convenience stores. Amazon is conditioning consumers to expect and demand faster service across channels, and rival retailers are trying to catch up. Mobile checkout technology will eventually become table stakes, likely within the medium to long term because it’s a major investment in innovation and a superior customer experience.

Checkout may be the number one or two annoying part of the shopping experience. Anything that speeds up or smooths out the process while maintaining inventory integrity and keeping loss to a minimum is a win for the establishment and for the consumer. In addition to which the younger generations of spenders will have it no other way.

Convenience store customers have one of the shortest shopping times of any retail format. This means the checkout time represents a disproportionate amount of the shopping experience. A number of research studies have shown their desire to have some form of technology shorten that checkout time.

A recent National Association of Convenience Stores (“NACS”) study asked how interested shopper would be in technologies that allow for instant pay, skipping the line, no cashier interaction. Forty-four percent of all shoppers were interested. More importantly 65 percent of frequent shoppers were interested in technology that speeds up the checkout process. The only question that remains is what technology convenience store retailers will select.

That’s why they are referred to as convenience stores. It used to be that location was the convenience factor. No longer. Now speed of checkout is critical. Yes, this will be the “ante” going forward.

Mobile checkout is becoming the ante for retail. One thing, from the article: “Cashiers know a purchase has been confirmed by a tone emitted from the confirmation station.” If it is busy, and knowing that the checkout is not the largest in the world, will the customer have to wait for the tone approval?

Unlike Starbucks, who has control over their stores and can wave a wand and boom, done! 7-Eleven is all franchised so, this could take a long, long time to get done at scale. This story is the perfect case study for that, in that Starbucks has had mobile checkout for years and 7-Eleven is just now able to convince only a few franchisees to do it. It could take them a decade to get there across the chain. This is a good example of why franchised operations are beneficial to a point, but then not so much, especially during times of high disruption or even when it comes to simple changes like this.

One assumes that someone has calculated the total time it takes for a shopper to fire up an app and scan each item personally and compared that to the length of a traditional checkout experience. My guess is that mobile checkout (in this form) is faster only if the checkout line is a few deep or longer. So one might argue that this will take the onus off improving traditional checkout efficiency and put it on the consumer to do the labor him/herself. Is that more convenient for the consumer? I’m not quite buying it.

Well, since “convenience” is in the name of the format – I would say it’s pretty important. Mobile checkout in this environment just makes sense – the demographic is right and it can apply to 90 percent of purchases. I’m not sure it will engender loyalty but it is a good business practice to pursue.

Checkout speed may be the number one success factor to a convenience store beyond offering the right products and service to the consumer. C-stores are positioned in markets for speed of transactions, and 7-Eleven’s use of mobile technology will enhance their service by speeding the consumers through the checkout process. Mobile checkout will become table stakes in c-stores and other retail outlets due to consumers getting more comfortable with their cell phones and desire for speed of checkout.

Checkout speed is critical for c-store shoppers. 7-Eleven has a long history of setting the standard for innovation in convenience, and other convenience retailers will be eager to follow suit. Given the success of the initial pilot, coupled with the overall success of 7Rewards and 7Now, we can assume this will be a hit.

C-stores are the one place that mobile and cashierless checkout make absolute sense. As long as c-stores can manage the shrink (this is questionable in my mind), it’s a great idea. Less care and feeding than Amazon Go type technology, with the same result.

7-Eleven, a convenience store, just became more convenient. Not sure if this technology is “table stakes,” but the concept of speed and convenience, especially at checkout (online and intore) will always be important in all retail businesses.

For 7-Eleven and other convenience stores this is more about loyalty and bringing customers into the store. Around 70 percent of c-stores are attached to gas stations which is the bulk of the business. Driving customers into the store is the primary focus of such tech and in 7-Eleven’s case, the focus is really about fostering loyalty. The checkouts at convenience stores are by design short because basket sizes and number of items purchased are few. The value is there, but the convenience factor here is not speed as in an overcrowded grocery – it’s still immediate 24/7 access or late hours access to products customers need – e.g. motor oil, antifreeze, basic tools, beverages and snacks. This is more of a loyalty builder to encourage repeat customers (think morning coffee or weekly gas) to expand share of wallet.

It’s a tremendous solution, especially since it reinforces the business’ position as a convenient shopping experience relative to all the other competing shopping options available to consumers. It would be cool if they could dynamically assess market basket building in real time to propose complementary products or offers on the consumer’s mobile device.

Not mentioned much in this article is the franchised nature of 7-Eleven. This makes it difficult for the brand to execute technology changes across the board. In fact, they have multiple POS systems across franchisees, and when you add in pay at the pump, you have a big conglomeration of POS technology to contend with. What could simplify things and facilitate much better data gathering for the brand? Mobile checkout! And this is a convenience retail format we’re talking about so, of course, shoppers will find mobile checkout an additional convenience factor! The real question is how many shoppers will adopt it. I suspect most users of the app will already have it up and running on their smartphone by the time they walk in the store, and so long as the checkout line is more than one deep this will be perceived as a time saver. 7-Eleven’s only problem now is convincing franchisees to adopt the technology in a timely manner or they could take the next decade trying to roll this out to… Read more »

Speed of checkout is going to become a key differentiator against Amazon Go. Mobile checkout will become table stakes but there is potential for a high risk of fraud-associated loss, as is the case with any form of self-scanning. Retailers MUST include that in their business case and overall planning – training staff appropriately and having clear processes to be used by staff (my usual mantra of people/process/technology) is essential. Pilots with AI and body language cameras may lead to something more automated – but until then the human approach is the best defense.