The point of purchase in a retail environment is where the consumer, the retailer, the product, and the transactional money all come together. The best retail stores understand how to maximise this moment, ensuring that the customer sees the correct displays, packaging, promotions and discounts, in-store advertising, and is talked to by the correct salesperson at the point of purchase. The idea is that the staff member can influence the decision of the consumer and point them towards an item that is being pushed at that time, to upsell them to a higher-priced product, or towards whatever it is the store wants to measure success by at that particular time.
Over the years the importance of point of purchase items has increased with the ever competitive marketplace, the higher competition with online retailers as opposed to solely physical retailers, and the price points when considered alongside often expensive advertising and promotional campaigns and materials. As sales in physical stores declined overall there was a push towards innovative and newer ways in which to entice customers who are already in store. How do you make certain products more appealing to a customer? This can be especially difficult for those types of customers who have a firm idea in mind for what to purchase before entering the store. The push and pull of promotional products, upselling, and smaller items is a delicate balancing act where you want to sell more to a consumer, but you certainly do not want to scare them away altogether by being too pushy.
In some retail environments the point of purchase sale is all about the little items, chocolate bars, chewing gum, sweets, and those types of confectionary items. This is appealing to certain markets (those with kids in tow for instance), as a way to make a little extra cash at the tills without pushing items that are much more expensive. For other retailers there is a concerted effort at the point of purchase by the salesperson to sell other items, those that are on offer at the time, or to direct the attention towards specific supplementary items that relate to the items already being purchased by the customer (this approach requires a dedicated workforce that understands all relevant products and services inside and out).
Other ways in which promotions and discounts can be put in place to entice customers in store is to ensure that all promotional materials are placed in the correct places within the retail environment. There is a necessity to undertake regular reviews and brand audits of your retail store to understand whether your point of purchase performance levels are hitting the required mark. Hire the services of a professional brand audit company with experience of the retail environment, that way you can ensure that you are receiving specialist guidance and advice on how to maximise the potential of your point of purchase sales. It is important to look at all angles and tweak your practice to boost performance levels.
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