Every brand in a PYMNTS Intelligence survey could see a reason to fund rewards at the register, and the largest share wanted a say in which items earned shoppers a discount.
That’s one finding from “The Smart Checkout Opportunity: Why Brands Are Ready to Fund a Smarter Checkout Ecosystem,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced in collaboration with FIS. The March survey of 63 consumer packaged goods brands and manufacturers found that 95% were very or extremely interested in a system that could match an offer to the items in a shopper’s basket. Think of it as a coupon that finds the right product at the register. For the brand paying for the discount, the appeal depends in part on who sets the terms and how the brand can tell whether the offer brought in additional sales.
- Larger brands want to choose what qualifies. Across the sample, 44% said they’d participate if they could choose the eligible products and set the rules. Among brands with more than 1,000 employees, that share reached 58%, compared with 36% of midsize brands. In practice, that kind of control would let a manufacturer offer a discount on one package size while charging the usual price for another.
- Retailers have room to take the lead. For 30% of brands, the preferred arrangement would let the retailer run the offer. Another 25% would start with a limited trial or a single product category. That gives a grocer and a manufacturer a practical place to start. They could try a reward in the cereal aisle before deciding whether to extend it to other shelves.
- Brands want to know what their money buys. Some 59% wanted to see whether a promotion generated additional sales. A redemption count tells a brand how many shoppers used an offer. It still leaves open how many would have bought the product at full price. Another 56% wanted safeguards against fraud or misuse, and 51% wanted the freedom to participate or withdraw by product, category or retailer.
Retailers already have some experience to draw on. About half of brands surveyed (49%) had run a checkout promotion in the previous 12 months. Looking ahead, 86% said they’d adopt a smarter checkout system if one were available today. For a retailer approaching a brand about its next in-store offer, the survey suggests a concrete opening for that conversation: agree on which items qualify and how both sides will measure the sales the reward brings in.
