There are over $32 billion of tires sold annually. Over 60% of tires sold are sold through independent tire dealers. The top 20 brands of tires account for over 95% of sales, but within that 95% the industry is fairly fragmented. The tire industry is arguably a mature industry, but when it comes to merchandising there is a surprising lack of sophistication. In today’s blog we’ll look at 10 tire showroom display ideas that can help to convert shoppers to customers.
Given the size and maturity of the tire industry, it is puzzling why the industry has not done a better job of merchandising. The last time I bought tires, I showed up at a tire dealer and waited in a fairly long line. There may have been a display or two in the shop, but they were uninspiring. When I got to the counter, the customer service guy turned a computer screen toward me and showed me a full screen of text. Buried in all the text somewhere were 3-4 options for me that were based on a few variables such as price, mileage warranty, and brand name. I made a quick decision based on the limited information I had but walked away concluding that the purchase experience was underwhelming and that the tire industry is missing out on an opportunity to do a better job of educating customers while also creating a more satisfied customer.
Imagine what a difference it would have made if the dealer had point-of-purchase displays showcasing their top selling tires. The customer service person could have walked me through my options by showing me physical tire samples on display and educating me on the differences between the tires. Alternatively, if the tire showroom display had a digital media player I would have watched a video that could have helped selLet’s look at 10 examples of cool tire displays that could have changed my experience. The first display is a 1-sided or 2-sided display we designed that enables the customer to look at and feel the tire, read about the features and benefits, and make a connection with the brand through the prominent branding on the display.
The second display has all the same characteristics of the above display with slightly different execution.
The third display is the same as the display above, but it is a 2-sided display instead of a 1-sided unit. This display would work well in an open space where customers have an opportunity to walk around the fixture.
We designed the Nexen tire display below to be a low-profile, 2-sided display to merchandise just 2 tires. In addition to having a low center of gravity, the display includes ample graphics, a brochure holder, and bright purple powder coating to tie into the Nexen brand.
We also created a taller Nexen fixture that was 2-sided and designed to hold 4 tires as shown below.
We designed another low profile display for Pep Boys to hold 2 tires. Unlike the Nexen display where we used square tubing, we used round tubing on the Pep Boys display along with a perforated sheet metal panel.
The taller big brother to the above display was designed to hold 4 tires and is shown below.
We designed a third low-profile display for two tires which was similar in construction to the other two, but it had its own distinctive design as shown below.
Our ninth example today goes back to the Nexen family of tire fixtures. It’s identical to the taller 4-tire display we designed above, but the one below is designed to hold 2 tires in a 1-sided format. Like a number of the others, this display has a brochure holder to provide the customer with more information about the Nexen brand.
Our final example today is not one we designed, but it is similar to a lot of the single tire displays that you see in automotive stores and tire dealerships. The benefit of this display is that it is cheap and it shows the product. The downside is that it provides no additional information about the tire.
We think it is time for the tire industry to take a hard look at the customer experience and consider incorporating more high quality point-of-purchase displays to facilitate the purchasing process.
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.