Retailers across the United States are facing a simple, but critical challenge: how do you bring customers back into the store more often?
Competition from e-commerce, delivery apps, and mobile ordering has made foot traffic harder to earn. At the same time, operating costs—from labor to shrink to cash handling—continue to rise.
But many retailers are overlooking one of the most reliable traffic drivers available today: Financial services.
When deployed strategically, services like bill pay, money transfer, cash deposits, and ATM access can turn a store into a daily destination, not just a convenience stop.
Retailers Are Searching for Reliable Foot Traffic
Retail remains a massive industry, but the dynamics are shifting quickly.
Today there are more than 152,000 convenience stores operating in the United States, many of them independently owned. These stores compete not only with each other but also with grocery chains, quick-service restaurants, and digital commerce platforms.
As a result, operators are constantly looking for ways to increase:
- visit frequency
- customer loyalty
- basket size
The key is offering services customers need regularly, not just products they buy occasionally.
The Hidden Traffic Drivers Retailers Often Overlook
Financial services are uniquely powerful because they create habit-driven visits.
Consider just one example: bill payments.
U.S. consumers pay roughly 16.8 billion bills every year, totaling about $5.6 trillion in payments. What's more, many consumers still rely on cash-based or in-person payment options, particularly those who prefer alternative financial services.
In fact, an estimated 55 million Americans are underbanked, meaning they frequently use services like bill pay, money transfers, and money orders at retail locations.
For retailers, that represents millions of recurring visits every month.
And unlike impulse purchases, these visits are predictable.
People pay bills monthly.
They withdraw cash weekly.
They send money regularly.
That consistency creates traffic retailers can rely on.
Why Financial Services Create Repeat Visits
Most retail purchases are discretionary. Financial services are not.
When retail stores offer financial services through systems like BANK IN A BOX, customers start to visit specifically to complete important transactions, including:
- bill payment
- money transfer
- cash withdrawal
- prepaid and gift card purchases
- deposits and money orders
Each of these services creates a reason to visit a store multiple times per month.
Even as digital payments grow, cash usage in retail locations has remained stable since 2021, demonstrating the ongoing role of physical payments in everyday commerce.
In other words, the demand for convenient, in-person financial services is not disappearing—it’s evolving. Retailers that provide those services become a local financial hub.
Customers Prefer Self-Service Financial Transactions
Another major shift is how customers want to complete those transactions.
Today’s consumers increasingly prefer self-service technology for routine tasks.
In fact, 87% of customers say they enjoy using self-service kiosks, with many preferring them to face-to-face interactions when completing financial transactions.
But it's not only customers who prefer self-service. Employees love these systems because they allow customers to complete transactions quickly while reducing labor demands (such as cash counting and compliance) for store staff.
For retailers facing labor shortages and rising wages, that’s a significant operational advantage.
From Cost Center to Profit Center
Historically, cash handling has been treated as a cost of doing business. Counting cash, reconciling tills, transporting deposits, and managing shrink all add operational friction.
Financial service technology like BANK IN A BOX is changing that equation. When deployed correctly, the same platform that helps your store manage its back-office cash flow can also:
- Reduce cash management costs
- Generate transaction revenue
- Increase visit frequency
- Drive additional in-store purchases
In other words, the infrastructure that once only handled store cash can now become a revenue-producing service hub.
The Rise of the Self-Service Financial Hub
Retail is undergoing a quiet transformation. Stores are evolving beyond traditional retail formats and becoming multi-service destinations.
Increasingly, a single location may offer:
- ATM access
- bill payment
- money transfers
- digital gift card purchases
- prepaid services
- consumer cash deposits
These services transform a retail location into a self-service financial hub for the surrounding community.
And the technology enabling these experiences continues to expand rapidly. The global self-service kiosk market alone is projected to grow significantly over the next decade as retailers adopt automated service solutions.
For retailers, the opportunity is clear. Financial services are no longer just an add-on—they are becoming a core driver of store traffic.
The Retailers Who Move First Win
The most successful retailers today are not simply selling products. They are building destinations.
By offering financial services alongside traditional retail products, stores can:
- attract new customers
- increase visit frequency
- generate additional revenue streams
- strengthen customer loyalty
In a competitive retail landscape, the stores that win will be those that provide convenience, access, and services customers rely on every day.
Financial services deliver all three.
TL;DR: Retailers looking for more foot traffic should look beyond products—financial services like bill pay, cash deposits, and money transfers bring customers back regularly, especially when delivered through platforms like BANK IN A BOX.
