ABOUT THIS EPISODE
IHL Group's Greg Buzek breaks down the real numbers behind inflation, retail sales, and self-service investment, then sits down with kiosk and payments leaders from Cox Communications, KIOSK Information Systems, and ReadyCredit to unpack what is actually working on the store floor.
Learn why self-service leaders are outgrowing their peers, how cash-to-card kiosks solve the cashless dilemma, and what AI is doing for uptime, fraud detection, and cash forecasting. Featuring Jenn Gilman (Cox Communications), Joe Sawicki (KIOSK Information Systems), and Jason Test (ReadyCredit).
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Self-service leaders show 141% higher adoption and 63% higher sales growth than laggards.
- Truflation runs near 2.1%, well below the government's official 3.5% reading.
- GLP-1 drugs are reshaping grocery, apparel, and returns behavior across retail.
- Cash-to-card kiosks let retailers go cashless while still serving unbanked customers.
- Computer vision advances now support age-restricted sales and shrink-sensitive categories.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Welcome and panel introductions
0:01 - Super Saturday registration and housekeeping
0:02 - Truflation vs government inflation data
0:03 - Gas price surge and its retail cost impact
0:05 - Grocery budget breakdown: beef, coffee, lettuce
0:07 - GLP-1 drugs reshaping food and apparel spending
0:07 - Jobless claims hit multi-decade low in a K-shaped economy
0:09 - NRF/CNBC Retail Monitor: 9.4% core sales growth
0:10 - World Cup boosts sporting goods and bookstore sales
0:12 - Back-to-school trends and Rhode Island staffing mandate
0:14 - Self-service leaders outgrow laggards on sales and profit
0:17 - BOPIS and local delivery gains tied to self-service
0:19 - Computer vision opens new loss-prevention use cases
0:21 - Guest introductions: Cox, KIOSK, ReadyCredit
0:23 - Cox's kiosk journey from bill pay through COVID
0:26 - Cashless trends and cash-to-card kiosks
0:29 - AI in service reps, payments fraud, cash forecasting
0:37 - Roadmap: self-serve lockers and kiosk payments
0:39 - Rapid-fire advice from the panel
0:40 - Q&A: aging hardware, kiosk security, staffing laws
0:52 - Closing and upcoming IHL webinars
GUESTS
Jenn Gilman, Sales Operations, Cox Communications
Joe Sawicki, VP Sales and Partnerships, KIOSK Information Systems
Jason Test, Chief Revenue Officer, ReadyCredit
Lee Holman, IHL Group
