Running a brick-and-mortar retail business is tough but if you know how to use your checkout process to boost sales, you can increase profits in a big way. Stores that do this well can increase the number of purchases that each customer makes by encouraging them to make short-term buying decisions while they are waiting in line and paying for their items.

But there is a fine art to this and many new businesses don’t get it right. These are some of the best ways to use your retail checkout process to make more sales.

Make the Checkout Experience a Positive One

This is the most important thing because you need your customers to have the right mindset if they are going to make extra purchases. If a customer is annoyed at having to wait in line for a long time, they’re not going to pick up extra items on the way to the till or respond positively to upselling, so make sure that their checkout experience is positive.

Create an efficient queue system and always have enough employees to manage demand, so people are not waiting too long to be served. Investing in the right POS system (find out more here) is key too. If you’re using an old car reader that takes ages to connect that’s frustrating for the customer. People will also be annoyed if you don’t provide a good range of payment options and they are unable to use their preferred method. So, invest in your checkout experience and put people in a positive frame of mind if you want them to buy more.

Display Sale Items Close to the Till

Sales are a brilliant way to get people into your store, even if they don’t end up buying anything. They’re a particularly good method for winning back customers after the pandemic and they can also encourage more purchases during the checkout process. If you display some of your smaller sale items close to the till where people are queueing, you stand a much better chance of people making impulse purchases on the way to the checkout. As long as you use simple but eye-catching displays, you should get quite a lot of interest and you will see a significant increase in sales.

Train Staff on Upselling

Upselling at the till is a great way to boost sales. If your staff can point out sale items or suggest complementary items that go well with existing purchases, you should get a good response. However, people don’t like upselling and they think it’s pushy, which is why it needs to be done in a subtle way that makes the customer feel that they are in control. This is a skill that needs to be taught, so make sure that the art of upselling is a central part of training for your employees. You could even offer bonuses for the staff member that upsells the most.

Employ these methods and you can use your retail checkout counter to maximize sales.