We frequently work with customers who have tight budgets for their custom-made display projects. Universally our customers want the nicest point-of-purchase display possible for the money- something that will be cost-effective yet represent their product well. While the end goal of any custom-made display is to sell more product, creating incremental sales lift doesn’t always necessitate spending more money. In fact, by being smart it is possible to save money while also boosting sales. In today’s blog we will look at 5 tips to save money on custom POP displays.
Tip #1: Create Knock-down Designs to Fit in the Smallest Box Possible- Assuming your display will be manufactured overseas, one of the best ways to save money is making sure your POP display design knocks down effectively. Ocean freight can often account for 15%-20% of the cost of a display so making sure your display can fit in the smallest box possible is important. The best way to accomplish this is work with a POP display company that has experience designing and manufacturing overseas. There are a lot of tricks of the trade that an experienced display provider should know such as making header signs removable, angling out the fronts and sides of baskets to allow them to next and so on.
Tip #2: Design to Minimize the Weight of the Display- With most displays, the most important determinant of cost is the weight of the material being used in a display. Sure, a display with an overabundance of welds will be more expensive due to higher labor costs, but typically the weight of the material drives the economics of the display. Using thinner sheet metal and acrylic wherever practical will help save money and going with wire shelves instead of sheet metal will likely be more cost-effective. Not only will a lighter display be cheaper to produce, but it will be cheaper to ship so paying attention to the display weight is critical.
Tip #3: Pay Attention to Box Size- Just as paying attention to display weight is important, paying attention to box size is also important. We’ve already discussed the importance of fitting things into the smallest box possible, but thinking ahead about the shipping costs is a great way to save money. Make sure you understand the details of how FEDEX and UPS calculate shipping costs and make sure you box doesn’t fall in the oversized category. Similarly, it is important to consider how many boxes will fit on a standard 40”x48” pallet. Trying to maximize the number of boxes per pallet will help improve your shipping economics which is another key cost component in addition to ocean freight.
Tip #4: Choose Standard Materials and Finishes- Ask your display provider to brief you on what materials are standard. Using non-standard materials will not only drive up the cost of your display, but it may delay the production and raise the minimum order quantity. Standard wire, tube, and sheet metal gauges should work well for most displays so you really won’t be compromising by using standard materials. In addition, it is important to pay attention to yield, particularly when it comes to sheet goods like plywood or MDF. Creating a custom-made display with parts that yield well on a standard 4’x8’ sheet is a really effective way to control costs. Finally, if possible use standard powder coated finishes and avoid chrome finishes. Chrome plating is worse for the environment and more expensive than powder coating. Custom powder costing colors may not be more expensive than standard colors, but there might be a higher minimum order quantity.
Tip #5: Ensure Designs are Easy to Assemble- We discussed the importance of making displays knock-down, but it is important to keep in mind that designs need to consider the time involved for assembly. If a display can be easily assembled by 1 person in 15-20 minutes, chances are the retailer won’t object to assembling the unit at the store level. If assembly is particularly complex or takes more than 20 or 30 minutes to assemble, it is likely that the product manufacturer will have to fund the assembly either by hiring a third-party firm to assemble or using its own team.
While there are many other tips to help control display costs, the 5 tips to save money discussed above will go a long way toward reducing the cost of your next custom point of purchase display.
Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than 3000 brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.
Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.’s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.
His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.