Regardless of whether you operate a retail store or a quick-service restaurant, the checkout experience holds significant importance in the success of your business.
Beyond being the moment of purchase, it presents an opportunity for customers to connect with your brand and for you to expand your business.
Once you have implemented an appropriate point-of-sale (POS) system to facilitate seamless payments, it is crucial to develop a point-of-sale marketing strategy that can further enhance customer engagement and drive sales.
How to Approach This
While the space around your point of sale may be limited, there are various ways to capitalize on it. However, the utilization will depend on the nature of your business and the desired actions from customers during checkout.
Ask these questions:
- Do you want them to make additional purchases?
- Are repeat purchases a priority?
- Or do you seek to collect their contact information?
We have compiled five effective POS marketing tactics that cater to different objectives. You are not obligated to employ all of them; simplicity is key. The Global Brand Simplicity Index reveals that 64% of consumers are willing to spend more for a streamlined experience.
Therefore, carefully consider your goals and gradually test one or two strategies at a time to assess their efficacy.
Five POS Marketing Tactics
Leverage impulse purchases.
If your aim is to increase the average spending of each customer, consider placing small, affordable items—impulse purchases—near the checkout counter. For instance, a grocery store might position candy, gum, and magazines at the register, while a clothing store could display low-cost accessories along the purchase line. You can align these impulse items with the season or holidays, or even create a dedicated bin for $1 products.
Showcase special promotions.
If you wish to promote a specific product or a group of products, consider highlighting them at the point of sale. Identify an underperforming product and offer a discount, or pair a well-selling item with a less popular one. Subsequently, create signage to advertise the special offer at your POS.
Initiate a loyalty program.
While many businesses concentrate their marketing efforts on acquiring new customers, your regular patrons are the backbone of your enterprise. Studies indicate that repeat customers spend 67% more than first-time buyers on subsequent visits, and over their lifetime, they are worth ten times their initial purchase.
Starting a loyalty program is an excellent way to retain customers and boost revenue. For example, participants in the Square Loyalty rewards program return in half the time it takes nonparticipants to come back. Thus, within the same timeframe, these customers visit twice as frequently.
Display signage near your point of sale that emphasizes the benefits of your loyalty program. Additionally, ensure that your employees are trained to encourage customers to join the program.
Advertise your gift cards.
Gift cards serve as a fantastic marketing tool for attracting new customers. When customers purchase gift cards for their friends, it expands the reach of your business.
Moreover, gift cards provide an opportunity for upselling. By offering a complimentary $15 gift card when customers surpass a specific price threshold, for instance, they are more likely to add a few more items to their purchase. Furthermore, if they give the gift card to someone else, it introduces a new customer to your business.
Make sure to prominently display your customized gift cards at the point of sale, making it easy for customers to include them in their purchase.
Inform customers about other marketing programs.
Your point of sale can also serve as a platform for promoting various marketing initiatives. If you aim to engage customers with your brand, consider placing a sign encouraging them to attend an upcoming event or sign up for your newsletter.
A good way to make this work harder is to align your marketing with promotions. So, if you are selling skincare products and advocate skin health, choose to add blurbs on your custom labels to aggrandize the affair. Simply adding a shiny foil label to an existing lotion product label or a standard shampoo-conditioner label, for example, makes all the difference in perception.
However, be cautious not to overwhelm your point of sale with an excessive number of signs.
Over to You
Your point-of-sale area is a valuable space within your store, often representing the final opportunity to make an impression before customers leave. Maximize this space by employing cutting-edge technology and providing enticing promotions and programs that foster deeper customer engagement.
