How U-Scan from StoreNext helped Newport win "Best Grocery Store"

When independent grocers Rudy and Debbie Dory turned to StoreNext Retail Technologies in March 2006 for a self-checkout system, little did they know that this latest customer service initiative would help them garner their eighth consecutive “Best Grocery Store” award from shoppers in Central Oregon.

The voting, from readers of The Source Weekly in Bend, should come as no surprise. Central Oregon’s powerful economic growth has brought with it a new appreciation of culinary quality — and its outstanding new restaurants and specialty producers have gained national attention. Newport Ave. Market has been at the center of this movement, constantly finding great new products while looking just as carefully for ways to serve their shoppers even better.

So Dory and his management team replaced two traditional checkout lanes with four new Fujitsu U-Scan self-checkout stations from StoreNext with the goals “to add shopper convenience and to speed up the checkout process for everyone.” In doing so, they also expanded the number of checkouts from six to eight, ultimately increasing shopper service, throughput — and sales.

Newport Ave. Market is the first independent grocery store in Bend to install the new technology and Rudy Dory is already a true believer. “The response has been great,” said Dory. “Our customers appreciate that we respect their time and initiate innovations that make the shopping experience more convenient and accessible for them. It’s a great option for people dashing in to pick up something for lunch or a few items for dinner.”

Results
Newport Avenue has plenty of data to underscore those claims. According to Dory, customer usage took off from the very beginning, with most shoppers choosing self-checkout for a five- to 10-item basket. As with normally staffed lanes, they can choose cash, debit or credit cards for payment.

“We saw about 20 percent of our total transactions through self-checkout during the first month and it quickly escalated to 35 percent by the second month,” Dory observed. “And we’ve continued to average right around 35 percent since then.”

Newport Avenue’s store manager Spike Bement brought 30 years of grocery service experience to the evaluation phase, as self-checkout offerings were carefully judged before the decision.  “We felt the U-Scans were our best option,” said Bement, referring to a compact U-Scan model providing triple bagging platforms. “They are easier to use than systems we’d seen at local competitors and customers tell us they really like them. And we’ve been able to retain and redeploy staff without additional recruiting.”

Bement further equipped their new attendant station with the Fujitsu iPAD handheld terminal.  Weighing only 11 ounces, these retail-hardened mobile units can be used by store associates to assist self-checkout customers while also being fully integrated with the point-of-sale (POS) system.

Concurrent with the U-Scan installation, Newport Ave. also upgraded to ISS45, one of StoreNext’s leading POS systems designed exclusively for independent grocers and regional chains. ISS45 can be implemented as a virtually turnkey installation or thoroughly tailored for use in a variety of store formats.

Newport Ave. Market moved to ISS45 from a competing POS platform because “we needed the best possible service and support locally, and felt we could get that combination from StoreNext and its authorized dealer, InStore Technology,” Dory explained. “We’re also now able to do some of our ‘percent off’ promotions with greater ease and our Item movement tracking is more accurate.

Year of Change
In addition to installing the new self-checkout and POS systems, Newport Ave. Market also unveiled an entertaining and whimsical Web site during the year. Visitors to the site get a quick taste of the grocer’s brand promise through its “Life is Short — Eat Good Food” philosophy front and center on the home page.

Loyal surfers also can click on a rotating, graphic icon that takes them to such far-flung places as Thailand, Mexico, Iraq and Jamaica, as well as many U.S. states, where Newport Ave. Market’s famous grocery bags have been known to travel with their owners.

Shoppers can register to receive Newport Avenue’s Foodie newsletter; access seasonal recipes; and learn more about all aspects of food through the “Tips, Trends and Tools” and “Foodieopia” sections of the site.

The 22,000 square foot upscale store features fresh meat and seafood, grocery, wine and beer, cheese, produce, floral, deli and bakery departments, as well as a kitchen store that “foodies” frequent for the latest cooking gadgets and technology. “Thirsty Thursdays” highlight the Northwest’s outstanding microbreweries including special local beers, while Newport’s Friday and Saturday tastings showcase nearby wines from vineyards in Oregon’s famed Willamette Valley alongside others from around the world.

Newport Ave. Market has also become the title sponsor of Cooking Central Oregon Style, a television production dedicated to the area’s fast-developing local adaptations of Northwest cuisine and other styles. The monthly program features guest chefs from local restaurants demonstrating their signature recipes using ingredients, cookware and tools from – where else – Newport Ave. Market.