McKeever's

Customer Case Study

OVERVIEW

McKeever’s Market and Eatery in Lenexa, Kansas, wanted more ways to take care of its customers and provide the level of service they were expecting. That included incorporating more self-service checkout options that would give shoppers an easier, pain-free grocery shopping experience.

Opened in June 2019, McKeever’s Market is the latest of the grocery stores owned by the McKeever family, including 10 Price Chopper stores in the Kansas City, Missouri area. The local market is deeply rooted in the community and their loyal customers were asking for more options when shopping in-store. McKeever’s decided to go down the self-checkout path, installing four locations with Toshiba System 7 self-checkout lanes. But, as it turned out, the successful launch of these units led McKeever’s CTO Tim Cosens to take a deeper look at his operations from this new self- service angle. In order to provide customers with the kind of experiences they expected, and also remain competitive in the local market, Cosens turned to TRUNO.

selfservicecheckout

Enhanced customer experience using self-service technologies

icon-gears

Full-featured and fully integrated FutureProof Retail scan-and-go checkout solution

software

Frustration-free self-service scales integrated with scan-and-go and POS

availability

Seamless integration with POS and back-office systems via TruCommerce

CHALLENGE

By selecting Toshiba’s proven, intuitive self-checkout System 7, McKeever’s Market was able to launch into customer-driven shopping technology with confidence. Cosens was pleased with customers’ enthusiasm for this self-service in-store option and began wondering how they could expand on this success. His goal was to enhance the customer experience using self-service technologies while optimizing the store’s investment in labor and operational management.

TRUNO suggested they bring the self-service concept to more than just the front end.  By implementing the Bizerba Self-Service Scale in their produce section, McKeever’s did just that.

With usage at the Toshiba System 7 continuing to increase among customers, what if they expanded the self-service concept even further and eliminated the checkout line altogether? Cosens was intrigued.

“We know most people don’t want to spend all day inside a grocery store,” said Cosens. “We wanted to provide a better, easier way for them to shop. We weren’t necessarily trying to be innovative, but it just seemed to work out that way.”

SOLUTION

McKeever’s Market expanded the self-service concept in-store by selecting the innovative shopping trend: scan-and-go. Using the TruCommerce middleware platform, TRUNO was able to integrate the white-labeled scan-and-go app from FutureProof Retail into McKeever’s existing point of sale and back office.

“In my view, the only way for a scan-and-go solution to be successful was if it completely replicated the capabilities and experience of an in-store checkout lane. With FutureProof Retail and TruCommerce, we were able to achieve that,” Cosens said of the integration.

The TruCommerce platform captures price modifications directly from the back-office software, making them accessible to the FutureProof Retail solution in real time.  This eliminates pricing discrepancy and ensures promotions are taken to the end user scanning their groceries. TruCommerce also captures sales transactions from the FutureProof Retail's software and automatically injects the data into the TruCommerce Transaction API. This eliminates the need for manual end-of-day reconciliation by the McKeever’s staff.

To take the innovation a step further, the Bizerba self-service scales integrate with the FutureProof Retail solution, streamlining how scan-and-go shoppers buy produce. A shopper can place their produce or bulk items on the scale platter and enter the PLU. When the correct weight/price shows on the screen with a barcode, the shopper can scan the screen with their phone, eliminating the need for a printed label.

“TRUNO helped us find the right technology solutions for our situation and prepared us for every circumstance, without any surprises during implementation,” Cosens said.

By listening to their shoppers and working with TRUNO, McKeever’s has built a frictionless and innovative experience with self-service lanes, self-service scales and scan-and-go.

“TRUNO helped us find the right technology for our situation and without any surprises.  Because of TruCommerce, we were able to completely integrate FutureProof Retail's scan-and-go solution with our front end. Honestly, I couldn’t come up with a better way to implement self-checkout and scan-and-go technologies in our store.”

- Tim Cosens, CTO, McKeever’s Market

RESULTS

After installing Toshiba System 7 units, McKeever’s Market saw a 30 percent usage rate among customers in the first six months, and that success has carried over to the self-service scales and scan-and-go app. Customers are downloading and using the scan-and-go app, even though it’s only been available for less than a year. According to Cosens, once shoppers see how easy it is to use and complete an order with the app, they are hooked, many saying, “I can’t believe I never tried this before.”

“We offer the scan-and-go technology as an option for our customers as opposed to the only way to check out,” said McKeever. “We wanted the app to provide everything you get when checking out at a lane. Our scan-and-go customers say they shop here because of it.”

Cosens also noted that the success of these integrations became a crucial factor in early 2020 when McKeever’s Market was thrust onto the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, he began working to add self-checkout to four more stores and to integrate the scan-and-go solution into 10 additional Price Chopper stores.

Thanks to integrations available through the TruCommerce platform, McKeever’s Market now has real-time reporting, and all store promotions are available through the scan-and-go app. McKeever’s is currently working with TRUNO to implement scan-and-go in more store locations, along with providing loyalty integration.

McKeever’s focus on the customer resulted in an innovative customer experience that shoppers are seeking out and choosing over the competition. The second McKeever’s Market and Eatery will open in September 2020.

Self-checkouts available at McKeever’s Market and Price Choppers

30% self-checkout adoption rate after six months

100% of store pricing and promotions available through the scan-and-go app

Real-time sales reporting from app to existing systems

Full PCI compliance

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