A few years ago, a theory started circulating that the Millennial generation would be the first to go completely cash free. On the surface, it seemed like a solid idea. The popularity of mobile payment solutions and continued growth of debit and credit cards were touted as the combination that would finally do away with paper. Yet if anything, the opposite is true. Millennials now use cash more often than any other age group1.
As an important demographic for many brick and mortar stores, this generation’s cash usage can present a serious problem for a retailer if there are not automated and secure cash management solutions in place. At Tidel, we recognize that the traditional, manual way of handling physical money in retail is often the difference between a company’s success or failure. To address this criticality, we developed a line of state-of-the-art smart safes, which retailers can use to manage the challenges and inefficiencies that have traditionally coincided with cash-based payments.
For the Millennial demographic, many within this group are unfortunately saddled with crippling debt from student loans or past experiences with mismanaged credit. Whether they are unable to start a line of credit or simply trying to create a payment system that allows them to properly budget, millennials are finding that using physical money helps them spend smarter. This is great for brick and mortar businesses. While millennials report doing much of their research on a product online, they still like to purchase from physical stores. Together, these trends resulted in cash accounting for 32 percent of all transactions in 20152.
Are Stores Properly Equipped to Handle Cash?
This would be an optimal scenario if stores were better prepared to handle cash payments. All too often, cash management methods are inefficient and costly, consuming valuable time that you or your employees could be putting to better use. Worse, inefficient cash management often results in misplaced funds. Tidel’s line of smart safes not only secures a store’s cash receipts, they also provide accurate and useful reporting to help you make the best choices for your business. Automated systems assist in deposit preparation, discrepancy investigations, and comparison of the day’s cash receipts with cash sales made, enabling reconciliations to happen much faster and with a much higher degree of accuracy.
We realize that no two businesses are the same, and unique scenarios call for unique solutions. No matter the space or setup you are working with, we have a cash management solution to meet your exact needs. At Tidel, our goal is to build a lasting relationship with our partners and clients. By truly understanding the situation presented, from the size of the business to the customers it serves, we can tailor our technology to help your business grow.
Millennials are a significant part of the retail market, and adjusting to their payment habits is crucial for a merchant’s survival. While popular rhetoric has suggested cash is a less popular payment option for this generation, this is simply not the case. Businesses must be prepared to not only accept cash as a payment option, but to store and manage it securely and efficiently. To learn more about our cash management solutions and how they can help your business, visit tidel.com today!
1 http://www.pymnts.com/cash/2017/cash-bill-pay/
2 http://www.pymnts.com/cash/2017/cash-bill-pay/