DRIVE IMPULSE PURCHASES AT THE COUNTER WITH CONSISTENT AND THOUGHTFUL MANAGEMENT

The traditional newsagency counter of confectionery and a clutter of other impulse purchase products does not work the way it used to in most locations. As shopper habits have changed and as newsagencies have diversified, the counter offer, too, has changed. 

Managed well, a counter can add valuable margin dollars to enough purchases to make a measureable difference to the bottom line performance of the business. To achieve this, you need to fully own your counter – it’s the most valuable real-estate in your business.

Here is our advice for a more successful counter.

RULES

First, you have to ensure the counter is a professional workplace. This requires rules. 

1. No food or drink to be visible to customers unless it is packaged and for sale.
2. No personal staff items like bags, purses, wallets or mobile phones to be visible at the counter.
3. Clean the counter at least every day.
4. From the customer side, remove all products from the counter once a week, clean and rebuild.
5. Keep counter messages, signs and notes that shoppers see to a minimum. Every note, sign or message must have a purpose that speaks to the mission of your business.
6. When employees purchase from the business have them purchase from the customer side of the counter.
7. Have a rule on how many people you have behind the counter at any time. Too often retail employees use the counter as a refuge. Stop this.
8. Dramatically change your counter at least once every three months – as much for your team as for your customers.
9. When assessing the counter for product placement, cleanliness and being on-topic, do so from the customer side. How it looks from behind the counter is far less relevant than from the customer side.

WHAT DO YOU PLACE AT THE COUNTER?

The easy answer to this question is that you place what works best for you – not what you have always done, but what works best now. This means testing new products, trialling what works and what does not work. The business reality, however, is that you need to think carefully about what you place and where. You have to ensure that your choices serve the broader needs of the business.

If you run a discount voucher program whereby shoppers have a voucher they can spend, ensure that you have items there that they can purchase with the voucher. For example, buy something in bulk, price them at the high end and place them at the counter. A customer with a voucher at $1 or less will often take one using the voucher.

In selecting products to trial at the counter consider these points:

• Decide your gross profit base line. We’d suggest 50%. Don’t place anything at the counter that has a GP of less than 50% or whatever you decide is your base line. You want all impulse purchases to add good GP% to a sale.
• You have little time. Once shoppers reach the counter they have usually selected what they want. You have little time to get them to purchase on impulse. All products must be easily understood and priced for easy add-on purchase.
• Think about who presents at the counter: the lottery product customer, the newspaper customer, the card and gift customer, kids, old folks, guys, girls. Your offers need to speak to the diversity of your customers.
• Tell a story. A cluttered counter with all sorts of items can confuse and not achieve what you need. A counter with a consistent mix of products that together tell a story can work much better. For example, a story could be – fun products for kids, retro trivia games, mugs, stickers and magnets, or a display built around a season.
• Take a risk. Regardless of the rules we have noted, sometimes taking a risk can unlock a new opportunity. At one of our corporate stores the manager removed confectionery from one side and filled (stuffed) the shelves with plush dogs and cats– priced at $24.99. Shock horror: they sold, in great numbers! We learned a lesson. Customers purchased them on impulse when presenting at the counter while others noticed them as if they were a display on the shop floor.
• Always feature cards: On the newsXpress impulse card unit. Change the cards weekly. Choose them carefully. Track sales from this location.
• Demonstrate products at the counter. If you sell tubs of gunk for kids, open a tub and encourage staff to play with it. If you sell a ball that lights up when you throw it in the air, encourage staff to throw it in the air behind the counter. Use your counter as a stage!
• Work at the counter. Price new products at the counter so your customers can see new things you will be stocking. Do it in a way that they can see the new products and even touch them. Unpacking and pricing products is a great way to sell them.
• Show off a good article. Have a magazine open at a page that is sure to appeal to many people. Recipe pages in Better Homes and Gardens can work well in this scenario.
• Work out the pricing that works for you. One school of thought is that counter offers need to be under $10. We have seen counter offers priced at $24.95 work a treat. Take your time to find the price point that works for you.

BEST PRACTICE DISPLAY AT THE COUNTER

Clean and simple is best. Too much visual noise and / or too many choices can confuse and hide what you want to achieve. Every product must compliment the product placed next to it. Everything must have its own space.

Place items such that they interrupt transaction sight lines. This gets the items you are pitching noticed.

HOW TO UP-SELL AT THE COUNTER

Here are some opening lines that could be used during a transaction to encourage shoppers to consider or purchase a product you are promoting:

1. Have you seen this [hold the item] it’s a lot of fun.
2. Hey look at this [hold the item] kids love it.
3. We’re running a poll, which colour do you like best? [Have a product you stock in multiple colours on show.]
4. We’re raising money selling these Red Nose products for SIDS research and support.
5. Look at what we just got in.
6. My boss reckons we can sell these here, I’m not so sure.
7. This is our Facebook deal this week – I’m not supposed to tell people though.
8. Have you seen this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens – that’s what I’m making tonight.

Upselling is something Australians in retail tend to not enjoy. Talk with your team, take your time and help them find words that work for them. It’s important because every additional dollar in a sale is icing on your bottom line cake.

NEWSXPRESS SUPPLIERS WITH GOOD COUNTER-RELATED PRODUCTS

We endorse and recommend, based on our own experience and the experience of members  these suppliers as offering good counter lines outside of the traditional confectionery mix: 

1. Independence Studios: bouncing balls, glitter bands, putty, chatter mates, the dotty range, vintage planet – they have 100s of these items and almost all we have tried ourselves have worked.
2. MDI: activity kits, small packaged toys.
3. Big Balloon: Beanie Boos and related.
4. Ikon. Mystery Minis.
5. Jasnor. Pusheen and other licences.
6. Winning Moves: Games.
7. Affirmations. Inspirational booklets.
8. Chocolate Gems: Chocolate hearts and stars, small gift packs – an ideal add-on purchase to a greeting card.
9. Hallmark: Cards, Itty Bittys, AFL buzzers
10. Modern Brands: Siku small boxed cars and trucks.
11. Artique: small inspirational cards and plaques

This list is not complete and it will change. The key is for you to find what works for you.