POSitive thinking: 14 do’s and don’ts for POS displays

BLANDFORD FORUM, U.K. - Jan. 22, 2016 - PRLog -- Lower tech costs and widespread smartphone use mean you may be ringing the changes when it comes to point of sale technology. But your point of sale isn’t just where you take the money — it’s where you can add value, market your business and encourage impulse buys that still make up a significant amount of sales, according to an OgilvyAction study.

So what are some do’s and don’ts for POS in 2016?

1. Make it easy by harnessing digital tech. “Consumers increasingly won’t use their phones to look for stuff inside or outside of a store, and then walk into them and wait patiently in line to pay for those items using a plastic card like they’ve done for the last 60 years. Nor will they routinely stand patiently in those same lines and whack their phones or their watches against a POS terminal that can enable a contactless transaction.” They’ll use cloud-based apps to checkout on their phones inside the store, as well as to buy and collect before they set foot inside the store, says PYMENTS.com’s Karen Webster.

2. Think about omni-channel options, whether that’s accepting Apple Pay, or including a Buy button on your Pinterest account. So-called “contextual commerce” — within social media channels — is a big trend, and anything that makes for frictionless payment will be welcomed by mobile shoppers.

3. At the very least, invest in POS software. The biggest benefit, says Steven Aldrich in Entrepreneur, is the up-to-the-minute picture it can provide of your inventory. “Each time you check out a customer, the goods you ring up are immediately subtracted from your inventory list, which is maintained on the system’s hard drive.”

4. But don’t forget to analyse the data — and don’t allow it to completely replace manual inventory (yet).

5. And don’t forget to integrate loyalty benefits into digital transactions.

6. Be creative with display designs, whether that’s putting a statement that bears out your brand on the wall behind your till, or highlighting a special offer. Don’t just clutter items confusingly on the counter. Make sure they stand out and use colours, scents and lettering to make your display pop.

7. Consider your counter as a showcase, too: Shopkeep has some inspiring examples of unique counters made of suitcases, reclaimed wood and upcycled furniture.

8. Remember the ‘rule of three’: “People’s short term memory can only remember roughly three ‘chunks’ of information at a time. With too many choices, you run the risk of making consumers frustrated,” says Shopify.

9. Keep it simple: “The material that gets noticed is usually small and directly in line of vision on or very near the shelves.” If it’s your logo you want noticed, remember this advice: “In three seconds most shoppers can only register one thing and one thing only. What will it be, your logo?”

10. Add value to upsell, like the card shop that offers to sell stamps. Think about how your customer uses your products and create special offers at the point of sale to entice them to buy.

11. Take a leaf from pop-up stores – change up your POS display with easy to assemble and dismantle set up like the cheap and cheerful OC Hong Kong pop up display shown in a recent post.

12. Allow for interaction, whether that’s allowing customers to sample food or drink at the counter, or using QR codes to redeem offers or augmented reality to show your products in use. Touch-screen technology can help inform shoppers, show off your range, and they are also another data-gathering opportunity — for, say, taking email addresses.

13. Don’t forget the personal touch: digital efficiency is all well and good, but when it comes to making a purchase, being trustworthy and personable can make all the difference, according to social scientists. Your tone, what you say and your body language can make or break a sale. Be positive, informed, ready to help and adopt an “expansive” pose, suggests Shopify.

14. Include calls-to-action, incentives to buy immediately, and takeaway information on your product. “Print brochures or flyers to place on your point-of-sale displays so your customers can takes the additional information home with them – and potentially share it with others,” suggests Brian Morris.

For more inspirational POS and Sign Display ideas, take a look at www.ShopfittingWarehouse.co.uk