Nespresso Australia this morning launched its first self-service system for capsule sales at its ‘Embassy’ in Pitt Street Mall, Sydney. Customers on this bustling shopping strip can now choose and pay for sleeves of capsules in around 2-to-3 minutes without needing ‘consular assistance’.
This is the first time these bespoke POS systems have been rolled out in both Asia Pacific and the Southern Hemisphere, having first launched in Berlin earlier this year, before spreading through Europe and the United States.
Consumers pick up a branded Nespresso bag on arrival and are greeted by a cascading and self-replacing wall of pods — every colour in the coffee rainbow — for them to choose from. After selecting their favourite ‘grands crus’, consumers place their bag on a scale to automatically assess, via mass, how many sleeves have been chosen.
Electronic tags on the individual packs mean the POS can determine exactly which flavours are being purchased, all of which is itemised on the screen for perusal before payment. These tags also act as theft prevention, as they will activate the sensors at the doors if someone tries to steal them.
The automatic terminals only accept credit and debit cards, with PIN: customers wishing to sign or pay by cash still require assistance. There is no PayPass (MasterCard) or payWave (Visa) on these terminals.
Nespresso Oceania general manager Renaud Tinel said these terminals will help free up staff from transactional duties to better showcase the brand to customers and engage them in the Nespresso lifestyle. Tinel said the multi-storey ‘Embassy’ always had been 20 and 25 staffmembers rostered on to assist consumers.
As part of its luxury lifestyle club-based brand mythology, Nespresso uses the name ‘Embassy’ for its flagship store in each country. Other stores in the region are known as ‘Boutiques’. There was some debate between Tinel and marketing manager Nicole Parker as to where the mothership was: Parker said Paris, Tinel opted for London.
In addition to switching on these self-service POS machines, Tinel flagged Nespresso’s intention to launch same-day delivery, at least as an experiment, for its club members in major metro markets.
In a general synopsis of Nespresso’s thinking for this service, TInel said same day delivery would require consumers to order capsules before 1pm for dispatching later that night. This is the time when most club members are at home to receive their capsules, Tinel said. Nespresso currently accepts orders via the internet, over the phone and smartphone apps.
Same day delivery is seen by many in online retail as the ‘silver bullet’ to breach the final hurdle to closing: the delay between purchasing goods and receiving them. In the United States, Amazon currently offers same day delivery in some markets, provided the customer purchases before a publicised deadline. For example, in Baltimore, the cut off is 11am; in New York City it is 8:30am; and in Seattle it is 12 midday.
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