Self-Service as a Real Estate Strategy

(MoneyWatch)  On real estate blog GlobeSt.com, Noreen Seebacher takes a look at the retail sector's increasing emphasis on self-service -- and what that means for shopping center owners and developers.
While expensive to implement, kiosks and self-checkouts cut labor costs, add sales options, and provide faster customer service, vendors and consultants say. A report from IHL Consulting Group predicts self-service sales will more than triple to more than $1.7 trillion by 2012. IHL says 98 percent of shoppers have used self-service and 72 percent "readily accept the technology."

What's the real estate angle? Fujitsu offers a "cashier-assisted self-service" checkout system that reduces the amount of space needed, so stores can add more lanes at the front end. IBM has been testing a self-checkout technology that works throughout the store.

Using self-service Internet kiosks enables retailers to tap into "virtual inventory," which requires less sales and stock space. "Self-service can make businesses operate more efficiently in less space -- a trend with obvious implications for commercial real estate professionals."

Image by Rick Harris, via Flickr CC 2.0