Sales associates and customers may take them for granted, but cash wraps facilitate many retail transactions–especially when they’re well designed and suited to their purpose.
Achieving this level of smooth serviceability doesn’t just happen. It takes planning, preparation, and understanding of various design details and options and how they can be employed by custom fixture manufacturers to create cash wraps that accomplish your performance goals.
CJ Sharpe, Director of Sales at L.A. Darling, shares some tips and insights on how preparation can help you streamline your next cash wrap project when working with a custom fixture manufacturer.
Answer these key questions before starting a cash wrap project
Before you begin working in depth with a custom fixture manufacturer, it’s worth your time and effort to nail down answers to some fundamental questions. Knowing what you need and what you want will help guide the discussion and allow a manufacturer to more efficiently meet your goals.
1. What are you looking for?
Your business operates based on a unique value proposition and the systems within your retail outlets help serve that goal.
Even the fixtures–essentially workstations–where associates perform their primary activities and interact with customers should be designed to support your process. Identifying what’s needed in custom cash wraps might seem daunting, but with the right preparation it doesn’t have to be.
CJ Sharpe has seen a multitude of projects through to completion. Based on years of experience, he says, “the best preparation for working with a custom fixture manufacturer is to be ready to provide information on the size of cash wraps needed, the intended floor plan or space that is to be filled, and an idea of the type of materials desired.”
Identify your service area needs
Changes in store layout or the decision to do a complete remodel are the most common drivers for new cash wraps and counters. Although updates like this often run in a seven-year cycle, Sharpe notes that cabinets, especially stainless steel, could easily last 10 to 12 years.
The term “cash wrap” encompasses several styles of work area cabinets, most commonly customer service counters and belted checkout counters. Get a grip on your goals for the transaction stations and how they will be used to support your operation.
Define the type of interactions expected to take place at the cash wrap
Service counters and workstations have their own requirements, often driven by the type of products or merchandise that will be handled. Belted surfaces easily handle food and household goods, conveying items toward an associate at a fixed location and helping to process transactions rapidly.
Service counters may handle very different interactions, ranging from data entry or paperwork to specialty services such as paint mixing or handling automotive parts and equipment.
Are you creating a checkout area for processing transactions, an area for handling paperwork, or a service counter for other specialized applications? In other words, start by determining if your need calls for a belted cash wrap to move merchandise or a non-belted counter to handle paperwork and service transactions.
Determine the look you want and the message your style will convey
Refresh the retail spaces with a new look and updated style or maintain a consistent brand color scheme and image. Cash wraps, belted and non-belted, can be produced in a vast array of color and materials that can be tailored to meet your brand specifications.
Powder coated sides and interior spaces can be produced in virtually any color. Select stainless steel, solid surface, or wood laminate surfaces to carry out the design message and provide the desired level of durability.
Need a hand in determining your needs? Sharpe explains how a custom fixture manufacturer can help you define the project.
2. How will associates and customers use the area?
Cash wraps support the activities of associates and make transactions more convenient for customers. Good design addresses both perspectives and creates an efficient space for all users.
“The custom fixture manufacturer needs to know if associates will be positioned across the cash wrap from customers or on the same side,” says Sharpe. “Positioning the cash wrap for its intended function is part of the design process.”
Technology is another factor in associate-customer interaction that needs to be considered in cash wrap design. Card readers, screens, and other devices that need to be incorporated can be mounted to face the associate or designed with the flexibility for use by both customer and associate.
Sharpe describes how the preferred usage pattern determines the final design.
3. What is the intended configuration?
Consider the store layout, available space, and traffic flow when determining the location and configuration of cash wraps and customer service counters.
Traffic flow and available space could differ widely depending on where in the store customer service desks are placed, such as near the entrance versus near the back of the store.
Checkouts may be positioned as freestanding units or positioning checkout counters into a u-shaped bullpen could be the most effective way to serve customers and handle a range of activities and direct traffic flow.
With a clear view of how you intend the cash wraps to function within the overall layout, you’ll be better able to define required cabinet lengths. Modular design makes it easy for custom manufacturers to create configurations that suit your application, Sharpe says.
Understand the construction options and refine your plans
Several construction options allow custom fixture manufacturers to create designs that support your store operation and improve the customer experience.
Belted
Belted surfaces incorporate a conveyor that rolls across the checkout area. As the customer loads merchandise onto the moving belt, it moves toward an associate positioned at a cash stand.
Typically, these surfaces are 8 feet long, but a shorter, 6-foot, belt is also available. Cash wraps with belted surfaces can be configured as either right- or left-handed.
Carousel
Freestanding belted checkouts include a carousel in sizes from 2 feet to 7 feet in diameter.
Modular construction
Each cash wrap cabinet section is created as an individual freestanding unit, sized in increments of 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 feet. Units can be positioned next to each other or arranged to create a straight line, L-shape, or U-shape configuration, as desired.
Because these segments are fully mobile, they can easily be repositioned as needs change.
“You may have a 20-foot straight line layout today, then in three or four years, you decide you want to switch that to an L- or a U-shaped layout, “ says Sharpe. “Most of those same cabinets could probably be used in your new design with the addition of just one or two new units.”
Self-checkout
The design and configuration of self-checkout stations vary widely. Bagging cabinets may be included and sized to accommodate various numbers of bags, usually from a single bag up to 4 bags.
Additional bag holder segments, one to two feet in length, can be added as needed. The area can be expanded indefinitely to satisfy the needs of your customers and meet your space limitations.
Apply customization options to address specific needs
The beauty of working with a custom fixture manufacturer is the ability to have cash wraps and service counters tailored to the needs of the locations where they will be used. Knowing what’s possible helps you define your needs and goals more precisely.
Indoor or outdoor use
Most cash wraps are intended for indoor use, although some may be constructed to be weatherproof. In most outdoor applications, the design would be similar to a mobile station in which a computer terminal or electronics could be installed inside the unit having a lid that closes to protect the equipment from the elements.
Heavy duty use
Durability is a key consideration for many cash wrap installations, whether in grocery or superstores or specific departments such as paint or automotive products. Powder coated steel provides a lasting finish on sides and interior surfaces. The addition of rubber bumpers offers additional protection from carts.
For the cash wrap surface, stainless steel is the surface of choice for durability and is the highest volume countertop choice. A cost-effective option, steel withstands heavy usage without chipping or damage from water, and it is distinctly more durable than wood and laminate surfaces.
Other custom design choices
Technology adaptations
“Cash wraps can be designed around whatever technology needs to go on top of them,” says Sharpe. In some cases, checkout mounts include a screen that faces the associate, while others may have an associate-facing screen and a debit card reader for the customer, he adds.
Turntable mounts are another option, so that a screen can spin to face either the associate or the customer. This allows the customer to enter personal information directly, then turn the screen back to the associate.
Reinforcement for machinery
In some applications, such as paint counters, countertops hold shakers, mixers, and other equipment. Both the counter surface and the shelving inside the cabinet can be customized and reinforced to support these systems securely or hold heavier items such as cans of paint.
In other situations, Sharpe says, cabinets may need to be customized with a pull-out shelf to hold a dedicated printer or other special-purpose items. He explains the variety of mounting options.
Custom cut-outs
Counter surfaces can be modified with custom cut-outs to support associate activities. Slots or openings in the countertop could allow associates to drop items directly into a return bin, drop hangers into their own container, or separate items for recycling trash.
Security versions
Retail security solutions can be added to any cash wrap design. Locking drawers and doors can be included using various lock systems that can be implemented to suit your store protocols and security needs
ADA compliant options
Whether ADA requirements call for counter surfaces of different heights or other adaptations, cash wraps can be designed to be compliant. Counter heights can be incorporated to allow for standing or writing heights, and ledges can also be added.
Options for non-belted surfaces
Belted cash wraps typically have a steel surface surrounding the belt, but additional choices are available for non-belted cabinet surfaces.
- Stainless steel, as previously noted, provides a durable surface that is chip resistant and not damaged by exposure to water.
- Solid surface materials, including Corian and others can be produced in a range of colors. They offer a sturdy, durable surface and an updated look.
- Wood laminate surfaces are available in a vast range of colors. This surface is generally a lower cost option but does not offer the long-term durability of steel or a solid surface.
Preparation leads to an efficient design and production process
When you’re working with a custom cash wrap manufacturer, the more prepared you are, the smoother the ordering process so the project can move ahead faster. You spend less time in back-and-forth and get more benefit from the manufacturer’s expertise.
As a custom fixture manufacturer working predominantly with domestic suppliers, L.A. Darling not only has the expertise to make the process efficient, but consistently delivers a rapid turnaround time–frequently 6 to 8 weeks depending on order size.
Clarify your goals, then tap into the greater customization options and knowledge of an experienced manufacturing partner.