For Jewelry Stores, the Checkout Counter Is a Branding Element

WHILE YOUR CASH wrap needs to be a functional place to check out customers and offer service, it also is a perfect opportunity for branding.

The cash wrap is a catchall term that refers to the register or checkout area of a retail setting. For many jewelry stores, it’s where the brand logo is displayed, often with a cool lighting fixture or other design flourish. It can’t be cluttered; you want customers to leave on a relaxed, upbeat and memorable note.

Form follows function. If it’s also a place for gift wrapping, make sure there’s a separate location behind or on the other side of the register to make that happen. Tuck away paper and boxes neatly behind closed doors or in drawers.

Allow plenty of space, advises visual merchandising expert and blogger Debi Ward Kennedy on decodivadebi.blogspot.com. The space between two parallel counters should be 3 feet wide to facilitate movement of people and product between them, including opening doors and drawers. With countertops an average 30 to 36 inches deep, you may need a 9-foot-deep area for this kind of cash wrap. If it’s a single counter, you’d still need 3 feet behind for passage and door operations, so allow 6 feet.

Once those essentials are taken care of, feel free to use your imagination.

Millennial Modern

The checkout counter is long, sleek and practical at Carter’s Jewelry of Petal, MS. In 2017, when Chae Carter opened her own version of the business her mother founded in 1986, the goal was to make it light and airy, modern and welcoming. The ambience suits Carter and the team of millennials and Gen Zs she has working with her, but guests of all ages feel comfortable there, too. Carter designed the store, which has an 1,800 square-foot showroom and a total space of 2,800 square feet, based on a vision she’d had for years of what her store would be.

The Beacon

The blue glass motif at the back of the Heller Jewelers showroom in San Ramon, CA, serves as a beacon to clients, while also mirroring large pillars of the same glass on each side of the storefront. The store, which debuted in 2020 and is owned by Scott Heller, is a full-service luxury jewelry and timepiece destination. The cool color palette of the 3,500 square-foot showroom befits the sleek interior design of the store designed by Ann Buda-Crema, owner of Launch by Design.

Colorado Cool

The cash wrap at Thollot is as distinctive and regionally inspired as the rest of the 5,985 square-foot Thornton, CO, store, a 2020 America’s Coolest Store winner owned by Troy and Joy Thollot. Colorado mountains are outlined in front of the counter. Recycled and reclaimed wood and other materials were incorporated throughout the store, designed by Robert Dykman.

It’s All in the Details

The cash wrap at M. Robinson Fine Jewelry in Austin continues the overall elegant lighting scheme of the 5,500 square-foot showroom with coordinating wall sconces and an artfully illuminated sign. The checkout counter reflects the neutral color palette, clean lines and simplicity of design created for the space by interior designer Leslie McGwire. M. Robinson Fine Jewelry is owned by Sherazad “Sunny” Lokhandwala. Raymond Gill is chief operations officer.

Effortless Elegance

Visible from any angle of the Kelley Jewelers showroom is the textured stone wall behind the cash wrap, which features the Kelley Jewelers logo offset with LED backlighting. It’s a signature part of the store and an integral part of the aesthetic of effortless elegance in the 4,700 square-foot showroom designed by Leslie McGwire & Associates. Kelley Jewelers, owned by Kim Ingram, occupies a 119 year-old building on Main Street in Weatherford, OK, on the famously well-traveled Route 66.

The Starburst

The cash wrap at Revolution Jewelry Works in Colorado Springs, CO, is at the center of a confluence of color and creativity embodied in the wildly expressive floor design. Owner Jennifer Farnes designed the floor pattern in Matrix CAD and worked with a flooring company to lay out the pattern using a grid in 5-foot sections. When the floors were poured and still wet, they manipulated the surface with a leaf blower to give the look of liquid metal in platinum and crimson. Farnes’ 4,300 square-foot space includes a 2,950 square-foot showroom outfitted with counters, showcases and displays made from Colorado reclaimed woods.

A Natural Feel

The high-ceilinged building occupied by S. Lennon & Co. Jewelers had been a diner, a coin-operated laundromat and a bank in the village of New Hartford, NY, before it became a 1,400 square foot jewelry showroom flooded with natural light. Because the store was designed by owners Stephen Lennon and Theresa Kalil-Lennon to make the most of a relatively small space, the cash wrap and repair shop are both near the entry and connected by a window. The natural wood of the cash wrap and cases bring the ethereal showroom space down to earth, giving it an organic feel, while blue accent walls are meant to remind visitors of the sea, the sky and Caribbean destinations. Because the team can see the entire store from the register area, they can be accessible to clients without being intrusive, which encourages browsing and discovery.

A Space Saver

At Adornment + Theory in Chicago, the compact checkout area does triple duty as a display case and jewelry bar, where clients can discuss creating the piece of their dreams with owner and jewelry designer Viviana Langhoff.

Relaxed Vibe

The use of wood warms up the point of sale, complements the wood flooring and provides a relaxed vibe at Mesa Jewelers, designed by Leslie McGwire & Associates, during a complete building renovation on Main Street in Grand Junction, CO. The accent color in the counter area reflect the colors used in a stone accent wall that provides the store’s true wow factor.