Staff at Jamie and Anish Keshwara’s Broad Street Nisa store in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, are reporting significantly faster transactions and more satisfied customers following the switch to an automated tobacco gantry.

Supplied by Navarra Retail Systems, in partnership with MSP epos systems, the gantry is 100% dark market-compliant and would be of great benefit should plain packaging be given the go-ahead, Jamie told Convenience Store.

Linked to the store’s epos system, the gantry allows staff to serve customers their brand of choice at the push of a button, with packs taking just one second to be dispensed.

“We have four till points in this busy store, all of which are connected to the gantry, meaning that four separate tobacco customers can be served at the same time, making for significant time savings,” Jamie explained.

A prompt on the till system also reminds staff to check for ID before packs are dispensed.

“Not only is the gantry display ban compliant and more secure than sliding doors, it also allows us full stock control,” Jamie added.

A 1.5m automated gantry costs about £5,000.