Point of Purchase Materials: Custom Signage and Displays to Boost Retail Sales

The time a customer spends moving around a store is brief, but it’s full of potential. Well-placed products can help trigger a reminder to pick up a key item or drive a covered ‘impulse purchase’ of a last-minute treat. But to catch a shopper’s eye, these well-placed products also need to be displayed in a compelling way.

That’s where point-of-purchase (POP) materials come in.

These striking retail print solutions can help retailers capitalize on customer foot traffic, make the shopping experience more convenient, and even drive sales. Read on to learn how these print solutions work, and what to keep in mind when implementing them in-store.

The Role of Point-of-Purchase (POP) Materials in Retail

The role of POP materials is three-fold.

First, they enhance the customer experience. As an additive, temporary element in the store, they must be designed with attractiveness in mind. Quality printing and construction are key for ensuring the crisp, eye-catching colors and long-term durability that make an impact on the sales floor. 

Second, they help guide customer behavior by directing them towards promotions, best-sellers, and seasonally appropriate items. A tape POP display time to coincide with holiday gift wrapping needs, for example, or a beach-themed display promoting 2-in-1 sunscreen bundles in the summertime. 

Third, they promote impulse purchasing, particularly when positioned close to the checkout or at the front of the store. Colorful designs, unique shapes, and eye-catching finishes like holographic foil are all particularly useful for helping achieve this goal.

Types of Effective Retail Signage and Displays

The most noticeable form of POP displays are the big standees - highly-designed pieces of temporary product shelving that stand on their own. However, there are actually quite a few different print solutions that fall into the POP category, including:

• Shelf Talkers
• Aisle Signs
• Floor Graphics
• Window Clings
• Countertop Displays
• Standees

Smaller pieces like shelf talkers, which are small signs added to shelves to flag individual products, can be just as effective as large custom standees. Their success comes down to context and print quality.

Best Practices for Designing Effective Retail Displays

To get the most out of retail displays, here are a few best practices worth keeping in mind.

1. Keep copy brief and use legible fonts that are consistent with brand standards. This will help ensure the display is readable and digestible, even if a shopper only spares it a momentary glance.
2.  Use high-contrast colors to maximize a display’s visual impact, and creative design elements to encourage shoppers to stop and look at the display.
3. Use quality materials to ensure the display holds up to the wear and tear of the sales floors.
4. Place displays at strategic points in a shopper’s path to guide them toward key promotions.

If you’re interested in learning more about the commercial print solutions available to retailers, check out our blog on custom packaging solutions here. And to ensure your next retail print project is a head-turning, sales driving, customer-pleasing success, you can reach out to our team at Wallace Carlson today!