Add on Sales at Check Out

Dear Wine Retailers,

By the time a customer arrives at your checkout, they have made the decision to purchase something and the sale is all but guaranteed. At this point, creating the right situations to add on to this sale is an important part of your business. Many retailers ignore the opportunity of add on sales at the point of checkout and we consider this a lost opportunity. By providing the right product mix, the right display, and the right prices, you can generate extra profits without much work. This is is where accessories become important for your business as they have low retails but great margins.

We think there are two great opportunities to offer additional sales. The first and most obvious is at the checkout counter. It is important here to experiment and figure out what products will work. Often, retailers will put products that are under $10 and small in physical size. These properties are vital since for an add on sale to be successful, the customer must think they aren't spending much more. You can offer a variety of products that might capture your customers interest or need.  Our most popular product at the point of sale is our waiters corkscrew that you can purchase in bulk and put out in any display near the register.  Our second most popular point of sale item is our pocket corkscrews that retail for $1.99.   And just like grocery stores that put candy near the registers, wine chocolates and truffles have also been a very succesful add on sale in many stores. 

The second important aspect of a successful program is training your customer service team to mention the items that are in front of the customer at the time of checkout.   Have you been to a Walgreens recently?   If so, you notice that they have 5 different items (rotating items) that sell for $0.99.  Whenever I purchase a product, the cashier will always ask me "would you like one of our $0.99 products of the day?".   I always look through the products really quickly and although I don't buy one every time, I must say I've bought them at least 10% of the time.   Equally, you can get your team to ask your customers one quick question such as "would you like a gift bag with that" to offer the chance for those taking a bottle of wine as a gift to wrap it.  This is particularly powerful during a major gift giving season like Father's Day. 

As with anything, maximizing your add on sales is a numbers game and requires consistency both in terms of your team reminding your customers as well as offering a good range of affordable products all the time.

Cheers!