Cash wrap. Checkout. Point of purchase. It’s where brick-and-mortar retail customers pay for purchases. As you might imagine, it involves more than a POS terminal or cash register. Cash wrap pertains to not just the place to record a sale, but the entire area where smart retailers place impulse-buy items.
But does its makeup actually affect the health and wealth of a convenience store’s business? The answer is an emphatic, “YES!” Not only in generating bottom-line lifting sales, but also in providing solid customer service.
This area should be wisely dedicated for some the hottest, most profitable – yet easily overlooked – items in the store. These are items that are high in gross profit percentage and small in size: Cigarette lighters, energy shots, popular single-serve snacks and candy bars, electronics such as cell phone cords, chargers and vehicle adapters.
Please, don’t forget the run-of-the-mill, yet essential, items like brown cloth work gloves and knit hats for cold mornings – you’d be surprised how many customers leave home without them. Trust me, you’ll sell hundreds. Less so with umbrellas and inexpensive rain ponchos, but you get the idea – match the products with the season! Your busy workday customers will be grateful.
Conversely, it’s good to be wary of theft, but don’t let that push you into placing these items behind the counter – out of reach and out of the sight of the impulse buyer. And don’t forget to use the nearby endcaps for the larger of these types of items, too.
It’s easy to forget that the heaviest customer traffic – nearly all of it – passes through the cash wrap. Use that area to anticipate the needs that your customers haven’t and you’ll make them – and your cash registers – very happy.
