Counter space at the point of sale is undoubtedly the most valuable real estate at any retail business. It’s why you will often see product displays, offer cards, and small impulse purchases lining the aisles of the checkout line or scattered across the countertop next to the register.
But why exactly is this point-of-sale position so much more valuable than other retail signage displays or product promotions across the store? Because you already have a rapt audience with a product in hand that is willing and ready to make a purchase decision.
Good point-of-sale marketing (POS marketing) and signage keep customers engaged and interested while waiting in line, which makes for a better customer experience. It also can serve as an opportunity to reinforce their buying decision about the product they are purchasing and even upsell them on a potential add-on purchase or brand membership program.
However, great POS marketing hits all of the points above but also uses adaptable tech and digital signage in order to create flexible messaging that changes in order to appeal to the current customers walking through your door. After all, your morning commuter customer will likely be drawn in by signage and content that is completely different than your end-of-evening customer. Therefore, you always want to keep your target audience in mind.
When deploying digital signage solutions, you can create messaging strategies for a number of different shopping personas and simply swap out your point-of-sale marketing based on time of day, available promotions, or even current inventory management needs.
To help give you a better idea of the creative ways that you can appeal to customers at your point of sale, here are three of our favorite ways to switch out your POS digital signage to increase sales and improve the customer experience:
1 – Encourage upsells and add-ons based on the time of day
You know your customer better than anyone, and whether it’s through data and analytics or simple observation, you likely know the most popular purchases that people make based on when they are walking through your store. For example, if you work at a convenience store or gas station, you likely have many customers who stop in during their morning commute to grab a coffee or snack on their way to work. You could tap into this persona by offering an upsell promotion, such as a free donut with the purchase of a large coffee, and then simply change your digital signage messaging to offer a similar promotion for your lunch crowd (free 12oz. drink with the purchase of a pre-made sandwich).
Modern digital signage software is user-friendly, so content management has never been easier. In fact, your POS system can be integrated with digital signs to communicate important information to customers and employees.
2 – Advertise new products or upcoming promotions
When your customers are shopping in-store, it’s very unlikely that they are completely present and aware in the moment. They are often thinking about a call they just had or about an upcoming event that they are shopping for. So, even if you tell them about a new promotion when they walk into the store, or you have a display of products based on an upcoming holiday, that may not be enough to get them to purchase.
However, having digital signage right at the point of sale captures customer attention at checkout in real-time. Therefore, this is the perfect place to remind them about upcoming promotions or sales, such as the Mother’s Day bouquets you offer or the pre-orders for your upcoming launch. With a digital signage system, you can easily swap that Mother’s Day promo out for the next upcoming holiday promotion.
3 – Educate customers about rewards and loyalty programs
If your retail store offers a membership program, loyalty card, or reward program, your point of sale is the perfect place to get it in the eyes of your customers. Why? Because you can reinforce the perks and benefits of this program right at the point where your customers can see the impact. For instance, if you offer members a free product with the purchase of $50 or more, and your customer already has $45 worth of products in their hand, they can see the clear benefit that they would receive by signing up for your program and adding $5 to their purchase. Or, if you offer a 20% coupon to anyone who signs up for your store’s credit card program, you can promote the program through digital signage at checkout so that customers in line have time to read about the program and make an educated decision while they are in line, rather than asking them last minute during checkout. The customer engagement opportunities are endless with the right digital signage displays.
By taking advantage of creative messaging and promotions at your point of sale through the use of flexible digital signage, you can optimize your entire retail experience, offer shoppers added value and education, and increase sales. If you’d like to chat more about what this would look like for your retail store, reach out to one of our Bluewater experts today.
