Things to Consider for POP Displays

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BY JERRY SMITH

In today’s competitive retail marketplace, a good Point-of-Purchase (POP) display makes a world of difference for a manufacturer’s brand and the sales of their products. POP displays help distinguish products from their competition.

Today’s consumers are so influenced by impulsive decisions that displaying a product in an eye-catching way is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. Ninety percent of purchasing decisions will increase with the use of POP displays, according to Point-of-Purchase Advertising International, because that’s the percent of shoppers who make at least occasional impulse purchases.

Each element of the supply chain, manufacturing, retail store and distribution have a common goal to increase sales, but have different concerns in the implementation and execution.

A Manufacturer’s Perspective

Simply put, the main goal for manufacturers is to increase sales.

Using a POP display takes advantage of the impulsive nature of consumers, which helps to move more of a product. When manufacturers introduce a well-designed, attractive POP display in the store of an existing customer, typically they see a significant increase in sales.

POP displays also help manufacturers open new accounts with larger orders. Retailers desire POP displays that help sell more overall product, and when a manufacturer is providing the retailer a display at their cost, they can dictate more of the purchase conversation as well.

In fact, manufacturers that provide POP displays oftentimes open the account with a larger initial purchase.

A Retailer’s Perspective

POP displays have to be set up in stores and take up valuable floor space. So, manufacturers that keep in mind what’s important for a retailer will be more successful in getting their display accepted.

The retailer wants to sell as much product as possible, and it doesn’t matter to them what product that is. As a result, POP displays that act as customer magnets are attractive to retailers.

Brian Alt of Concord Pet said, “Retailers don’t want to have to do too much work to set up and/or maintain a POP display.” To this end, the display should include all the tools and instructions necessary to set it up. POP displays that are difficult for retailers to re-stock and maintain, and don’t properly explain the product to consumers, are not as attractive to retailers as those that do the opposite.

Finally, retailers desire POP displays that have a relatively small footprint, as space is one of the most valuable assets for retailers to sell more product—displaying as many options as possible in their limited floor space.

A Distributor’s Perspective

The third spoke in the POP display wheel is one many people don’t think about—the distributor who ships the product from manufacturer to retailer. Distributors are more than just logistics, though; they are virtually an extension of the brand.

Eric Zeigler of Zeigler Distribution says the most important thing to him is the durability of the display. They want something that will not be problematic, i.e. break, have missing parts, etc.  The display also shouldn’t fall apart in a short period of time.

Distributors also desire displays that are fast moving—ones that move out quickly, and don’t sit around taking up space in a warehouse for long periods of time.

Distributors desire POP displays that don’t contain too many parts, aren’t too heavy and don’t take up too much space. The smaller, more compact and fewer pieces a manufacturer can work into the design of a POP display, the better it will be from a distributor’s point of view.

To this end, it’s also vitally important to a distributor that the POP display can fit easily on a pallet to make delivery easier.

The most effective POP displays take into consideration all three entities involved in the creation, delivery and launch of a POP display—from manufacturing to distribution to retail stores – which are all elements that are created before a product is ever stocked on a shelf.