Cheatham Annex NEX to go cashless in December

Photo By Max Lonzanida | Williamsburg, Va. (November 9, 2023) Customers at the Navy Exchange (NEX) Mini-Mart onboard Cheatham Annex (CAX) utilize the Point of Sale terminal to pay for their purchases. This particular NEX mini-mart is scheduled to transition to a cashless environment on 1 December 2023 in an effort to speed up customer checkout times and streamline the store’s operations. The CAX mini-mart originally opened more than forty years ago in what was previously an MWR Bowling Alley and before that, a horse stable during WWII. The mini-mart completed a significant renovation in 2014 which nearly doubled the size of the store. (U.S. Navy Photo by Max Lonzanida/Released)  

WILLIAMSBURG, VA, UNITED STATES

11.18.2023

Story by Max Lonzanida  

Naval Weapons Station Yorktown

Williamsburg, Va. (November 17, 2023) The familiar jingle of coins being counted at the cash register as customers pay for their purchases will be a sight and sound of the past at the Navy Exchange Mini-Mart onboard Cheatham Annex. The small mini mart will transition to a cashless environment starting on 1 December 2023 in a concerted effort to speed up checkout times and increase efficiency. The transition to a cashless environment follows a growing national trend among retailers since COVID-19.

Naval Weapons Station Yorktown’s Navy Exchange Manager, Jai Snipes shed some light on the decision to go cashless during a brief interview earlier this month. Jai manages the NEX locations at Huntington Hall, NWS Yorktown, and this one onboard Cheatham Annex. “We did the research to see what cash transactions were like here, and they were less than five percent of our overall transactions. In fact, two of the three stores that are cashless in this region are my stores; the NEX at Huntington Hall and now here at Cheatham. There is also one at Wallops Island that is also within our region,” said Snipes, as he watched a store employee complete transactions with shoppers during the busy afternoon rush.

“Over 95 percent of our shoppers here are already paying with a credit card, debit card, Military Star card, and even Apple Pay and Google Pay. We even take checks, but that is few and far between, so after we close on November 30th, there won’t be a single coin or any money in this store,” he said. “All the employee needs to do is come in and push a series of buttons on the register and they can start ringing shoppers up. Its going to make the checkout process a whole lot faster, and that helps especially if you are in a rush. It’s our goal to get shoppers in and out, and the last thing they want to do is stand in a line waiting for someone to count out exact change for their purchase or wait for the cashier to do the same,” he said.

Snipes pointed out a variety of signs throughout the mini mart advising shoppers of the change to a cashless environment. “Honestly, I think customers won’t even notice the difference because most of our transactions are done without cash,” he said. A cashless store was a far cry when the first Navy exchange mini mart opened onboard Cheatham Annex during WWII. At the time, the mini mart was located in a former bowling alley, which was previously a horse stable long before the era of electronic payments. This particular storefront has been around in this most recent configuration since 2014, when the store completed an expansion which doubled its size and product offerings.

“This store is a breakfast and lunch store, and most of those times the line here can be three maybe six deep. If it takes maybe three to four minutes to checkout, if I can speed up that checkout time by going cashless that’s a win for everyone,” he said. Snipes noted that a growing trend of retailers nationwide have been transitioned to being cashless. He also noted some efficiencies with employees who won’t have to worry about spending time at the start or end of their shifts to countdown the funds in their cash drawers. Additionally, it alleviates a member of his staff having to travel nearly 20 minutes each way from the main Navy Exchange Mini-Mart onboard Naval Weapons Station Yorktown to pick up a cash bag daily.

“When we did the conversion at Huntington Hall’s Navy Exchange to cashless in February of this year, we have not received a single complaint. And that was ten months ago; in-fact, we got accolades because shoppers get in and get out with a quickness. I’m confident the same will happen here when we transition to a cashless environment on December 1st, and I’m looking forward to it.”

• Date Taken: 11.18.2023
• Date Posted: 11.19.2023 19:55
• Story ID: 458161
• Location: WILLIAMSBURG, VA, US