3 Retail Checkout Counter Ideas to Try in Your Store

Time:1/23/2022

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Your checkout area is an important part of your retail store - and not just because it's the space where you call your customers. With the right approach, your cash wrap can also drive sales, increase exposure, and leave a lasting impression on shoppers.

Let's take a look at some of the ways you can spruce up your retail checkout counter.

Make health and safety a priority

Since COVID-19 keeps people on their toes, you need to make your customers and employees feel safe in the store - and that includes the checkout area. So be sure to enhance the health and safety of your cash packages. Depending on your store, this may mean

● Installing plexiglass to provide a physical barrier between shoppers and cashiers
● Having a bottle of sanitizer on the counter so customers can sanitize their hands
● Investing in fixtures or materials like this antibacterial countertop mat

Taking these steps will help your customers feel more at ease and show your employees that you are looking for them. All in all, it creates a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Encourage impulse buying

Allocate some space in the checkout area for items that people can buy quickly while they are out and about. By doing it the right way, you are likely to increase every sale.

Impulse purchases account for a large portion of consumer spending. A survey by CreditCards.com found that "84% of respondents said they have made an impulse purchase at some point, 77% within the past three months.

The survey also found that nearly 80 percent of respondents made an in-store impulse purchase, while only 6 percent said they made an impulse purchase on a mobile device.

As a brick-and-mortar store, you are in a great position to encourage impulse buying, and your checkout counter is one of the most natural areas of the store. People who have reached the checkout line are clearly in the mood to buy, so positioning the right items can help increase their basket size.

What are the best impulse buy items?
Generally speaking, the best impulse buys are small and self-explanatory. As business consultant Lynn Switanowski told ABC News, "These products don't need a lot of explanation. It markets itself (because) you understand what it does.

Depending on your store, you might consider displaying the following items at checkout.

-Gift cards
-Travel size versions of existing products
-Accessories to compliment your core merchandise
-Seasonal merchandise (e.g., holiday cards, gifts)
-Food and beverages
-Small toys or children's items
-Utility items, such as car chargers
-Whatever you decide, make sure these impulse items are branded. For example, JapanLA is a store that features -Japanese pop culture toys, gifts and apparel, and displays beautiful items like lipsticks and stickers at the checkout counter.

What makes them great is that they are not just any old lipsticks or stickers. Just like the rest of JapanLA's products, these impulse buys fit the Japanese pop culture lifestyle that the store promotes.

Use POS systems to enhance the look of your checkout counter

Your point-of-sale system is the most important technology at the checkout counter. If you get the right POS, you can even use it to enhance your cash package.

Give yourself a sleek POS system that works on a tablet or computer instead of a bulky cash register. In addition to saving space, modern POS solutions look and function well, so you can attract customers efficiently and stylishly.

Depending on your store, you can even add a splash of color to your hardware. For example, Toronto's Self Feature uses red iPad sleeves and represents their POS. it's a simple gesture, but it makes a bold statement.

Closing Words

Did this article inspire you to fix up your checkout area? We hope so! Now, we don't recommend that you try all of these ideas at once - that might be just a little too much. But we do want you to try some of these tips. Test some ideas and see how shoppers react. Document your efforts and results, and improve accordingly.