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Cash wraps are a combination of practicality and psychology in retail. The correct execution of the cash wrap counter can increase sales and make or break the customer experience.
Major retailers have spent millions on understanding the psychology of consumer behavior. This is where the cash wrap is beneficial.
Execute smart psychology by learning how to configure your retail cash wrap desk and adjust it to increase your bottom line.
Otherwise known as the check-out counter, a cash wrap is the last stop for any customer who visits your store. Simply put, cash wraps are the areas customers go to within your store to pay for merchandise.
What sets a cash wrap apart from a standard retail counter, however, is the winding—or wrapping—aisle with display shelves where you can display additional items, often considered “impulse buys” before your customers pay and leave.
It’s important to note that a cash wrap is the single most powerful point of purchase available to you. With that in mind, consider how you can maximize this area of your retail business space.
Put your cash wrap to work and improve the customer experience while simultaneously encouraging purchases. If you execute retail cash wraps effectively, you can dramatically increase your bottom line in the long term.
Here are some significant benefits of focusing on your cash wrap counter:
The cash wrap is the number one section within your store where customers make impulse purchases. The online equivalent is the suggested items you’re prompted with before reaching a checkout screen. Use eye-catching displays of items like drinks and snacks, or small purchases—such as lip balm or headphones—that are low stakes items with high and potentially immediate utility.
Intelligent design around your retail POS can reduce the time it takes to pay for items. Fast checkouts improve the customer experience and leave your target market with a positive impression after leaving your retail business.
Make sure your retail counter has enough space for customers to set down armloads of items. A convenient retail checkout counter goes a long way to improving the overall experience.
A well-positioned retail desk or cash wrap counter ensures that employees have a better view of the store, thus improving security. Depending on their configuration, cash wraps can also slow down shoplifters looking for a quick exit of a store.
Retail cash wrap counters are excellent canvases for branding. Many retailers invest in significant signage and brand elements around their POS system in their retail store because this is a place with a captive audience and the final touchpoint in a retail transaction. Consider using this space to promote branded products and special offers.
There are many types of cash wrap designs retailers can invest in for their business. Obviously, many retail checkout counters are constrained by the amount of available retail space, which we’ll discuss later.
First, let’s examine the different types of cash wraps available.
The single countertop cash wrap counter is placed perpendicular or parallel to a wall in your store. This may act as a freestanding island.
For a two-part retail counter unit, one section is placed parallel to a wall, and another free-standing unit is placed in front of it, creating an aisle between the two sections.
Otherwise known as a U-shaped or horseshoe unit, this is the same as a two-part unit, except an additional section is used to enclose the whole POS retail counter.
The type of cash wrap design that’s right for you largely depends on the size of your retail business, the number of employees you have on the sales floor, and the number of customers you expect to shop with you during peak business hours. It all plays into a more extensive debate over customer flow, floor space, and design goals.
Finally, you need to remember The American with Disabilities Act—which takes into account counter height and aisle spacing, among other factors—as well as general health and safety regulations.
This means a retail countertop should be at least 30-36 inches wide, with an allowance of three feet for employees to work. There should be enough space for a wheelchair in front of the retail counter, and the counter must be no more than 36 inches from the floor.
When designing your retail business space, there are many factors to take into account to maximize the value of your retail cash wrap.
This is why, even when you’ve decided upon a cash wrap design, it’s wise to change it up every so often to test which options work best for your business. Retail stores that experiment tend to experience superior results in the long term.
Let’s take a look at different factors to consider for your POS retail counter design.
These will be defining factors for your retail counter desk. Depending on your retail space, you may not be able to accommodate a big three-part unit.
You must factor in retail and disability guidelines when figuring out your space allotment.
Furthermore, you need to consider how customers are going to move through your checkout line. Do they have enough space, or are they getting in the way of people who are still browsing?
Additionally, it’s recommended that you place your cash wrap counter on the left side of your store. Studies show that the majority of customers automatically turn right when entering a store. This encourages customers to walk past your retail counter as they exit.
Your POS terminals should be positioned in a way that gives your check-out counter a clean, streamlined look.
Choose a retail checkout counter that helps you hide messy electrical cords. The POS system for your retail store shouldn’t get in the way of your customer experience. Instead, it should allow your employees to process transactions quickly and seamlessly.
Fast processing is not just important during peak hours. Customers want to pay for their items and go about their business as fast as possible all the time.
One consideration you need to take into account is the number of available checkout registers. When customers are waiting in line at the retail checkout counter, it’s an excellent time to expose them to your merchandise. However, you don’t want to keep people waiting for too long or you’ll ruin the customer experience.
Regularly tracking expected sales volume and foot traffic can help you determine how many POS terminals you need to strike the right balance between merchandise exposure and checkout efficiency.
Your cash wrap counter is a chief point of branding. Avoid default, neutral designs on cash wraps. Instead, brand your retail checkout counter with your colors. Make your brand a natural focal point for this area.
You can do this through lighting and non-intrusive props. This is one aspect you can change up throughout the year to keep things fresh.
Don’t just think about your obligations; think about how your retail counter size influences the customer experience.
Is there enough space for customers to set down their items? Too many stores only consider the customer at the front of the line. Make sure customers also have a place to put down their items while they wait.
Ensure your employees have enough space to organize themselves properly. Shelves that are hidden behind the POS retail counter keep your area looking clean and organized. It’s all about impressions.
The same goes for electrical cords. Keep them hidden. Customers who spot a messy retail counter could automatically make assumptions about what that means for the business as a whole.
An often overlooked aspect of cash wrap design is the security aspect. Placing your cash wrap counter too far away from the entrance can mean your employees are unable to see people entering and exiting.
Theft costs the retail industry untold millions every single year. Most thieves are opportunists, and if your retail counter is in the wrong place, it could increase the amount of product lost to theft for your retail business.
Consider the natural flow of the store and the eyelines of employees when placing your counter.
Merchandising is the act of placing certain items at the retail checkout counter to encourage further purchases. This is where the term “cash wrap counter” was derived. Many retail businesses rely on this form of merchandising to turn a profit every year.
Ensure your wrap counter has enough space to accommodate these additional products so you can grow your profits even when your shoppers are close to completing their purchases.
It’s estimated that 68% of all retail purchases are impulse buys. The retail checkout counter is the ultimate location for this.
Customers waiting in line often find their eyes wandering towards unnecessary, but attractive, products and decide to make an impulse purchase.
Retailers must carefully craft their wrap counter merchandising strategy to encourage further sales and maximize profits.
The answer to this is simple. The best cash wrap counter products are small, high-margin products that require very little thought on the part of a customer.
For example, a supermarket typically includes lighters, magazines, drinks, candy, and chewing gum in this part of the store. Customers shouldn’t have to leave the line to grab these items.
Low-cost products with high margins are strongly recommended because products with bigger price tags require more thought. You want the customer to spend as little time as possible thinking about these purchases.
The average supermarket, for example, will rarely have any product at the checkout costing more than $10.
One of the major concerns of retail businesses is creating customer loyalty. Whether you have a rewards program, or simply a special offer, the retail counter is the place to breed that loyalty.
Selling a product in this area of the store, with the offer of a discount attached, can be a great way to get someone to sign up for a store card or provide their email for your distribution list.
Certain products, such as chocolate bars, always have a place at a cash wrap counter. However, if you stock the same items every time, customers will eventually become blind to them.
Stores tend to have sections that are swapped out regularly. Seasonal products and services will appear for a short time before being switched with something else.
This keeps the attention of your regulars and increases the chances of them buying something.
It’s the one area of your retail space that invites experimentation throughout the year.
There are entire research studies dedicated to the retail psychology of the cash wrap. Part of maximizing the value of your retail checkout counter revolves around purchasing the right POS retail solution.
Facilitate additional purchases and improve the customer experience by opting for a retail POS platform from Revel Systems.
Contact us today to learn more about the different cutting-edge POS equipment and technology solutions we can offer your business.
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