Retail Safari at Spar gets Touch Screen window

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA:  Consumers shopping at the Spar Group retail outlets in South Africa will soon be welcoming state-of-the-art touch screens at Spar pay points across the country as per a press release.

The 15” Elo Desktop touch monitors, supplied by Tactile Technologies, are being introduced at point of sale (POS) stations, to assist patrons in paying for their goods quickly and efficiently.

Abdul Laher, Group POS Systems Manager at Spar, says Spar has approximately 800 stores countrywide, and each year new stores open. Additionally, existing stores need software and hardware upgrades or replacements of faulty monitors.

“Until a couple of years ago, the idea of touch screen technology wasn’t on Spar’s radar because a normal monitor costs far less. However a lot of retailers are realising the benefits of touch and many have gone that route,” he says.

The touch screens offer perfect precision for high-use applications and their pure-glass construction delivers excellent image clarity and works even when scratched, a common occurrence with traditional LCD screens.

To date, Venter says CEB Solutions has installed approximately 550 units at various stores but says the project will be ongoing and the speed of the uptake depends on each independent retailer.

“Even though the units are still quite new in the field, the touch screens proved to be incredibly reliable with a failure rate of less than one per cent.”