In traditional retail sales, point-of-sale (POS) marketing, or point-of-purchase marketing, is when you place related, often lower-priced items close to the register where the customer will make his or her purchase. As they shop, customers can quickly peruse these items and decide whether to add one or more to their purchase.
And it works! Just recall those last-second additions to the shopping cart as you were going through checkout during your last visit to a grocery store.
Online POS marketing works similarly, as the store would make offers that would appear as the customer is purchasing items in his or her cart.
POS marketing encourages impulse purchases and raises your average transaction value and customer profitability, making it an important part of any retail business’s marketing strategy – whether it’s brick and mortar or online.
Use the following effective point-of-sale marketing ideas to boost sales at your business.
Ideas and Tips for In-Store POS Marketing
#1 Product Placement
If you own a brick and mortar storefront, you’ll need to consider a few factors in setting up POS displays. For one, you’ll want to make sure that the location and your chosen “featured” product make sense. For example, if your featured product is a snazzy water bottle, you’d want to place it next to another more expensive product that complements it, like your new yoga clothing line.
Use your POS system to determine which of your products are typically sold together and use this information to decide which items you’ll pair on the display. For example, if you own a kitchen gadget store, and your customers typically purchase a pizza stone ($60) and a pizza cutter ($10) at the same time, then you know that placing these items next to one another will boost your sales.
#2 Design Continuity
You’ll also want to consider the actual design of your display. Make sure that it’s visually appealing and that it aligns with the feeling that you’re going for. The more seamless, the better. If your vibe is sleek and modern, avoid farmhouse, bohemian, or other more busy decor styles.
#3 Promotions and Deals
Use POS marketing to showcase any deals or promotions you’re offering. Create clear signage that tells your customers how they can save more money by taking advantage of these deals. For example, if your customers can bundle products to receive 10%, place these products next to each other and make sure your display clearly conveys this deal.
#4 Change it Up
Don’t offer the same promotions all the time. Switch up your displays and switch up your deals. This will give your customers that fresh “I just saved” feeling every time they enter your store. If you don’t change it up, the feeling will fade, and that translates to lower sales.
Ideas and Tips for Online POS Marketing
#1 Push Additional Purchases
When your customer is busy purchasing from your online store, make sure you convey the advantages if they decide to purchase additional products. For example, if your customer gets free shipping if their cart total reaches $30, then make sure they’re aware! Or maybe your customer has to reach $50 to receive a discount. If so, tell them! However, it’s important not to distract the customer from their original purchase. This means including small pop-up messages like, “You’re $5.42 away from free shipping!” and not overtaking the whole screen with your upsell messaging.
#2 Feature Items that Complement
On your checkout page, feature items that complement the items that your customer has added to the cart. Since your customer has already decided to purchase such items, you can expect them to at least consider making these additions. For example, if your customer has added a pair of shoes to their cart, it makes sense that you would feature accompanying shoelaces or socks.
#3 Remind Customers of Recently Viewed Products
As customers shop, they inevitably scan through items that interest them but that they ultimately forget about by the time they “arrive” at checkout. Consider reminding your customers of these items at checkout. The goal, of course, is that this quick reminder could get them to make the addition at checkout and result in a bigger sale.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’ve got a storefront or online store (or both!), it’s time to maximize your upselling opportunities through POS marketing. Take advantage of those who already believe in your product or service and make it convenient for them to add to their purchase. It’s a win-win for you and for your customers!
