Nearly eight in 10 shoppers spend money they withdraw from an in-store ATM on additional store purchases, according to an extensive new survey highlighting the benefits of cash machines.

The survey of 821 c-store shoppers from across the country found that, of the 77% who spent the money they withdrew in-store, the total average spend was £13.09. And of those who thought an on-site ATM was an important service, total average spend per visit was 96p higher.

It also highlighted the impact on footfall, with 71% of respondents viewing the presence of an ATM at the store as important, while 53% said they would not visit the same store if the ATM was not there or was faulty.

The Value of Cash report, carried out by Populus on behalf of cash machine operator Cardtronics UK, revealed that the cash machine was the most popular reason for visiting the store among respondents, with 56% coming for the ATM, followed by 36% who come for groceries and 23% for newspapers and magazines.

Across the UK, respondents in Wales (82%) and urban areas (76%) were most likely to think the presence of an in-store ATM was important. In Wales the most common reason (32%) for identifying its importance was because “it is close to home”, while 24% said it “saves them from having to travel elsewhere”.

Furthermore, one in seven used the ATM unplanned, demonstrating the benefit of the service to those who were unaware of its presence.

Alanzo James of James & Co Supermarket in Nottingham, said his recently- installed ATM had already boosted business. “We’ve had it for just two weeks now, but already we’re seeing more customers, And our regulars are very happy that we’ve got the cash machine for them to use too,” he said.

“We installed the cash point because we wanted to provide a service to the people in the area. But it’s definitely also giving our business a boost.”

Jonathan Simpson-Dent, managing director of Cardtronics Europe, said: “We’ve always been given anecdotal evidence to suggest that a cash point is able to offer shop owners a boost to their business, but now for the first time we’ve been able to prove and quantify it.”

The interviews were conducted with shoppers outside c-stores and petrol forecourts across the UK.

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