The Essentials for a Great Front Counter
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5:03 PM, 6 September 2017
The four must-haves at the counter for Helen Le Heron at Books for Kids in Hamilton are:
- Eftpos machine
- Book marks to give away
- Pens to give away
- New or exciting books
Jo Dippie, Manager at Page & Blackmore says that her five essentials at the counter are:
- Brilliant staff
- a large selection of tempting, eye-catching small books
- the latest screens and terminals for fast transactions and book searches
- chocolate!
- our shop dog Friday (pictured below!)
Kiran Dass from Unity Books, Auckland says:
'In addition to the more prosaic nuts-and-bolts gear like our loyalty cards (an incentive and invitation for customers to keep coming back), EFTPOS machines and cash register… the counter is the final point of contact in the customer shopping experience and is a good opportunity to optimise sales. When I was working at Book Soup in West Hollywood and Vromans in Pasadena on the Kobo Booksellers scholarship, the big trend that everyone was pushing in American bookselling was stocking non-book items around the counter to attract add-on sales. This included everything from coffee mugs, jewellery and ornaments to photo frames, tea towels and salad bowls! At Unity, we haven’t quite gone that wild, but do stock eye-catching little curiosities of books that make terrific gifts, as well as book-related add-ons like fancy German reading glasses - it’s like the colourfully tempting confectionary you see at the supermarket just as you’re about to checkout but our goodies are for good for your eyes and brain!'
'What is in close proximity to the counter is just as important - we do a roaring trade with greeting cards, staff picks and prizewinning books which are positioned on the counter pillars.'
Do you have a great front counter? Tell us about it and send a photo through to info@booksellers.co.nz to get it included!
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