Dive Brief:
- Coen Markets plans to roll out food ordering kiosks across its entire convenience store network in the coming months, Vice President of Marketing Andrea Neurohr confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- Coen, which operates about 50 c-stores across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, debuted the kiosks — manufactured by payments company Verifone — on Wednesday at a location in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
- This continues Coen’s ongoing technology upgrade efforts, which included the overhaul of the retailer’s loyalty program and its website over the past year and a half.
Dive Insight:
In addition to implementing Verifone’s food ordering kiosks, Coen has also installed the payment firm’s self-checkout systems that have the same screen as the kiosks, Neurohr said.
Coen continues to try new technology to improve the checkout experience. The company was one of several convenience retailers that previously offered frictionless checkout technology via Grabango, which ceased operations in October due to a lack of funding. Coen initially launched Grabango’s technology, which automatically tracked what customers picked up and allowed them to pay by scanning the Grabango app before leaving, at two of its Pittsburgh-area c-stores in February 2023.
Verifone’s foodservice kiosk, the K350, features a touchscreen that displays personalized promotions and lets customers search for and order products in real time. The kiosks support a variety of payment methods, including EMV chip cards, contactless payments and mobile wallets. They also connect to WiFi and bluetooth and can integrate with Coen’s existing POS system and loyalty program.
“The ease of use, flow of the user experience, and overall look of these new [Verifone] kiosks will definitely bring Coen and the customer ordering experience to a new level,” Neurohor said.
Coen isn’t the only regional c-store retailer using Verifone’s food ordering kiosks. Dandy Mini Marts, which has more than 60 stores in the New York and Pennsylvania Twin Tiers areas, debuted the technology at an undisclosed number of locations last month.
