Think about the last time you were in line at your favorite coffee shop.
While you waited for the barista to craft your beverage, the pastry case likely caught your eye. You may have been drawn in by a flaky croissant or decadent blueberry muffin, deciding to add one of these items to your order.
The strategy at work in this example is point of sale (POS) merchandising. When it was time to check out, you were encouraged to add something extra to your purchase.
Fortunately for you, this technique isn’t just effective for coffee shops; it can also have major benefits for your retail store. In this blog, we’ll explain what point of sale merchandising is, what it can do for your store, and our top three tips for leveraging this powerful tool.
What Is Point of Sale Merchandising?
Point of sale merchandising is an upselling strategy that involves displaying products near your checkout counter.
While your shoppers are waiting to pay, they’ll be able to browse this area and add additional items to their selection at the last minute. Generally, this display will feature impulse items, which are products that your shoppers weren’t originally planning to buy but catch their eye.
Point of sale merchandising has benefits for you and your shoppers. You’ll reap the rewards of making a bigger sale, and your customers will enjoy a more curated shopping experience, surprised and delighted by your recommendations.
Characteristics of a Successful Point of Sale Merchandising Approach
Point of sale merchandising involves more than just displaying products near your checkout area. If you’re hoping to use this strategy to boost your sales and enhance the customer experience, you’ll need to be intentional about the products you display and how you choose to display them.
Let’s explore the three main aspects of an effective point of sale merchandising approach.
1. Attractive Design
Browsing your point of sale merchandising area should be fun for your customers. They should be immediately drawn to the display, attracted by its bright colors, exciting signage, and impeccable organization.
Follow these best practices to ensure that your shoppers make a beeline for your point of sale merchandising display:
- Place your display in a highly visible, convenient location near your checkout area.
- Make sure your display is well-lit.
- Use colorful, engaging signage to attract customers’ attention to new arrivals and items on sale.
- Keep your display neatly organized.
Following these simple steps will help you create an aesthetically pleasing point of sale merchandising display that attracts your customers’ attention.
2. Strategic Product Selection
The most important aspect of an effective point of sale merchandising display is the products you choose to spotlight.
Not every item in your store will be an effective addition to your point of sale merchandising area. Instead, you’ll want to select products that meet the following criteria:
- High Impulse Buy Potential: The products should require little to no deliberation or research before your customer decides to purchase them.
- Small and Compact: The products should be on the smaller side, making it easy for customers to hold them in hand.
- Broad Appeal: The products should appeal to almost everyone who shops in your store.
- Commonly Forgotten: You might want to choose items that likely aren’t on your customers’ shopping lists.
Let’s explore a few examples of products that meet these criteria for different types of retail stores:
- Hardware Stores: Hardware store owners might opt to display batteries, small flashlights, and safety glasses near the checkout counter.
- Lawn and Garden Stores: Lawn and garden store merchandising displays should include items like seed packets, small shovels and shears, and gardening gloves.
- Clothing Boutiques: Boutique owners might offer accessories like earrings, sunglasses, and jewelry near the checkout area.
- Gift Shops: Effective gift shop merchandising displays might include small items like magnets, postcards, and locally made treats.
Use these criteria and examples to inspire your point of sale merchandising product selection.
3. Regular Refreshes
Choosing the right products to spotlight in your point of sale merchandising display isn’t a one-and-done task. Instead, you’ll need to regularly update it to keep your customers engaged and your sales high.
One strategy to keep your display fresh is to lean into seasonal trends. For example, if you own a clothing store, you might want to display items like scarves and gloves in the winter, and sunglasses and hats as the weather heats up.
Another way to get the best results from your display is to dig into your sales reports and identify which of your impulse items are selling the most and the least. Your store’s POS system should provide you with this data, allowing you to craft displays filled with your highest-performing products.
Maximize Your Sales With Comcash
Looking for more ways to boost your retail store’s sales? Your best bet is to invest in a powerful POS solution.
The right POS system will give you all the tools you need to take your small business to the next level, including real-time inventory monitoring, a built-in customer loyalty program, e-commerce integrations, and advanced reporting.
If you’re in the market for a modern POS system with all the right features, check out Comcash. Schedule your personalized demo today to take Comcash for a spin, or use our build and price tool to create your custom POS system and generate an instant quote.