Every retailer knows labor costs are a standard part of operating a store. And employees are paid to do what’s needed to keep the store running. That includes stocking, inventory, answering customer questions, operating the registers, cleaning, and cash management.
But retail pay has increased by 14% since 2020 and it remains increasingly difficult to find and keep employees. Experts anticipate labor shortages will continue to affect over a quarter (36%) of retail operations into 2025. So, how do you maximize the time and expense of the employees you DO have?
You could…cut the cash handling.
How much cash handling do your employees do?
According to the Federal Resever, cash is still the 3rd most used payment method in the United States. In addition, 16% or more of retail transactions are made in cash. It’s an especially favored transaction method for convenience purchases and in-person payments for purchases $25 and under.
Let’s look at the amount of time the average retail store spends on cash handling. On average, the preparation and reconciliation for a single register takes around 441 minutes per week. That’s about 1,764 minutes, or 29.4 hours, per month.
For ONE register.
But what about preparing store reconciliation and reporting, preparing store deposits, and making bank runs to deposit cash or get change?
The average time spent on these tasks is 575 minutes per week. That’s 2,300 minutes, or 38.33 hours, per month.
All together stores performing manual cash management average nearly 70 hours per month – for stores with only one register. That’s practically a part-time employee’s worth of hours every month. JUST on cash management.
Want to know more about labor costs in cash management?
How can you eliminate cash management from labor time and costs?
Ditching the excessive cash management time is fairly simple. Switching to a smart safe can help. On average, smart safes save 110 minutes per week per register and another 444 minutes weekly for store cash handling with a single register. That’s 2,216 minutes, or 36.9 hours saved every month.
Cash recycling systems like Cash Depot’s BANK IN A BOX can save retailers even more time and money, cutting register preparation and reconciliation down to a measly 15 minutes per week and dropping store cash management time an additional 46 minutes.
With BANK IN A BOX, 70 hours per month becomes 7 and additional registers only add, on average, one (ONE!) hour per register. That’s over $945 monthly labor cost savings (at $15/hour and zero benefits). More importantly, that’s time and money that can be invested into customer-facing, money-making parts of the business.
Final Thoughts
Addressing labor shortage and rising labor costs is a big deal for today’s convenience stores, grocery stores, supermarkets, and other retail businesses. Cutting cash management costs is equally important. Fortunately, it’s possible to tackle both issues in one fell swoop – by streamlining an essential part of store operations and finances with systems like BANK IN A BOX.
Want to know more about labor costs in cash management?
TL;DR - Experts expect labor shortages and rising labor costs to continue plaguing retailers into 2025 and beyond. Tackling cash management can help alleviate both problems and save money on cash handling, too.
