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42 BUSINESS THROUGH INNOVATION POINT OF SALE FROM PAGE 41 vaccination observation period, those patients will be required to stay in the store. Pharmacies therefore have a tremendous opportunity to create engaging messages covering any number of products, special offers and services – and now is the time to be doing it. Retail Pharmacy asked NostraData Managing Director Mike da Gama to share some insights on how pharmacies can best approach this POS marketing opportunity, including product selection and the development of the messages they will use. “Pharmacists wishing to influence purchasing while patients wait the compulsory 15 minutes following a Covid or flu injection will benefit from having a seating area near to the areas where convenience, impulse buying or high-sales-volume products are located,” he said. “Tracking data captured by POS \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[scan data\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] can help inform the types of products that will respond well to impulse buying, upselling, multi offers or bundling, when overlaid with position and time of promotional activity. “For example, scan data captures the date and time, as well as the combination of products purchased and at what price. If sales of a product show predictable uplift based on promotional activity, the pharmacy can start to change POS materials or position in the store to test if that improves or removes sales volumes. “Products that are currently trending, for example, Bio-Oil Gel, work well in POS or counter-top promotions, as they’re often sought out by customers, or prompt recognition and buying signals when customers are waiting at the counter for service. “These activations appeal to groups that are health conscious or concerned with disposable income, while purchasing often follows online trends, advertising or other awareness triggers. “Another group with a high propensity for response are those visiting the pharmacy for other OTC products, perhaps as they’re not as likely to be as price-sensitive as a concessional patient collecting a script.” Mr da Gama says Covid and flu vaccination can also be accompanied by immune-specific recommendations, such as vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, andrographis, and other potent immune boosters. “Having magazines that advertise the products sold in the pharmacy, alongside catalogues and other brand reminders, can also help prompt buying signals with patients,” he said. Know your customer With Covid came a major change in consumer shopping habits, including a significant swing to online shopping. Having experienced the convenience, ease and interactivity offered by online stores, consumers returning to bricks and mortar stores now expect more from the experience. In the Adyen Agility Report on consumer buying behaviour,1 market research and insight agency Opinium revealed the changing expectations of Australian consumers and the key types of shopping behaviour that have developed during the pandemic. Among the report’s findings, Australian retailers will be encouraged to learn Australians have the strongest desire to shop in-store: 72 per cent of local respondents, compared with 62 per cent and 50 per cent for US and British respondents, respectively. The research also found Australians don’t tolerate bad experiences, which 72 per cent of respondents said triggered an unwillingness to revisit a retailer, whether the experience was in-store or online. Conversely, Australians will reward retailers that helped them when times were tough, with 78 per cent saying they’ll continue supporting the bricks and mortar retailers they have relied on during the pandemic. When we consider the consumer’s desire to return to physical-store shopping, their desire for a more interactive experience, their willingness to support helpful, local stores – such as pharmacies – and their sensitivity to bad experiences, it becomes clear both retailers and brands must offer an in- store experience of the highest possible standard, ideally replicating their online presence in the store environment. With shoppers now more accustomed to browsing and buying products online, it’s important for retailers and their brands to execute well in-store. That small item on a crowded retail shelf simply isn’t enough now. Maximise POS impact Genesis Retail Displays creates point of purchase displays for brands seeking to increase their market share, and retailers, including community pharmacy, to increase their basket size. The company’s Director, Display and Retail Advice, Andrew Mansfield says the ramp-up of the national Covid vaccine program will inevitably increase foot traffic of both patients and shoppers in pharmacies, creating a significant opportunity to execute effective POS strategies. “It’s a chance for pharmacies and brands to reach out to their regular pharmacy shoppers and, just as importantly, to people who rarely set foot inside a pharmacy, not being the primary family pharmacy shopper,” he said. “The increased dwell time, created by a certain amount of queuing and the monitoring time after administering the vaccine, is an additional opportunity to engage, educate and influence shoppers. A suite of POS display formats is a proven way to create a touchpoint system to engage those shoppers with products and offers throughout their visit to a pharmacy. “These POS displays influence the last \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[metre\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] of the customer’s path to purchase. As this is where shoppers make their final buying decisions, a well designed and executed POS display can make the difference between gaining or losing shoppers. “Shoppers in pharmacy environments tend to ‘skim’ the aisles because they’re typically busy navigating the product categories and brands. As pharmacy shelves are densely packed with a vast range of products, many in small packs, packaging alone – no matter how visually appealing – can often be too small to make an impact on a customer without some help. “This is where using point of sale materials for the shelf edge, bay, aisle or gondola end plays a part. Using mediums such as a cardboard display or hanging shelf sign to accompany your product can increase the chance someone will notice it. “Free-standing floor displays generate the best returns on investment, given they offer a larger graphic area and increased stock hold. These should be designed with a compact footprint to allow for good shopper movement through the store.” Another advantage of free-standing floor displays is they allow pharmacies to expand their store and product range beyond the limitations of permanent shelf fixtures. With the forthcoming increase in shopper numbers and RETAIL PHARMACY • MAY 2021