Be Prepared to Answer These 20 Questions Before Starting Your Next Point-of-Purchase Display Project- Part II of IV

In our last blog post we emphasized the importance of carefully preparing and planning prior to starting a point-of-purchase display project. We stressed the importance of knowing the answers to a set of 20 basic questions to ensure an efficient design process and a successful outcome. In Part I of this 4-part series we looked at the first 5 questions. Now let’s focus on the next 5 questions:

6. How many product facings would you like?

The number of product facings you desire is a critical design element in creating a display that effectively merchandises your product. It’s important to get this right so consumers are clear about your various product offerings. The number of product facings is usually dependent on the number of product SKUs you wish to have on the display. This is typically driven by the number of flavors, colors, or sizes.

The number of product facings is a big factor in determining the width and height of your display. It is also important to think about the location of the product facings. Generally, it is best to put your best selling or highest margin SKUs higher on the display and closer to eye level, while your slowing moving SKUs can be placed toward the bottom or in harder-to-access locations.

7. How many sides do you want the display to have?

Many of our customers start the design process without really knowing if they are looking for a 1-side, 2-sided, 3-sided, or 4-sided display. The number of sides is a really important variable to nail down early in the design process. The number of sides is typically dependent on the location of the display in the store and the amount of product/number of product facings on the display.

If your display will be placed against a wall, then in most cases a 1-sided or 3-sided display makes the most sense. However, if you know that other displays will be placed to the immediate left and right of your display then it generally does not make sense to create a 3-sided display. If your freestanding display will be place in the middle of an open area, then you will need to decide if it is better going with a 2-sided or 4-sided display, although a 1-sided or 3-sided display could still work in some cases. If you expect to get a corner location, you might want to design something that fits that space.
 
Finally, if you are going to be placed against a wall or in a corner such as in a crowded convenience store, you might consider a 3-sided or 4-sided display that spins, which brings us to question #8.

8. Would you like the display to spin?

Spinning displays are relatively popular because they can make almost any retail location work. Whether you are placed against a wall, in a corner, or in an open space, a spinning display can usually work. And, if you don’t know where you might be placed or want to maximize your chances of getting retail placement, you might consider a spinning display design.

Spinning displays may cost a little more due to the extra hardware, but the incremental investment might be worth it if it increases you retail placement opportunities. Because of their versatility and space efficiency, spinning displays tend to be popular in both small format and large format retail settings and across a wide range of retail verticals, including drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, mass market retailers, sporting good stores, jewelry stores, specialty stores, pet stores, and many others. Be sure to get a good bearing with your spinning display since it is a headache to try to replace a defective bearing on a spinning display once it is in the store.

9. Does the display need to have castors or levelers?

It is important to think through whether or not you want castors on your display. A display with castors will cost you more than a display without castors, but the advantage of easily being able to move the display around for purposes such as cleaning is worth serious consideration. A mobile display can also help you capitalize on opportunities to sell your product in different departments within a store or take advantage of better seasonal or promotional locations or events. The downside, however, is that you might find your display moved from a prime end cap location to a dark corner at the back of the store.

If you do decide to go with castors, make sure your display supplier uses high quality castors that are rated to support the amount of weight on your display. If you choose to create a display without castors, we almost always recommend levelers since floors are not always level, and the adjustability offered by levelers can come in handy.

10. What kind of branding would you like on the display?

Be prepared to share your display branding requirements with your POP display design team. If it is important to have permanent branding on your display, such as silk screening your logo on sheet metal, be sure to communicate that to your design team. Permanent branding is often a good way to protect your investment and prevent your display from being high jacked and used for another product.

The most common place for branding is the display header, but side signs and flag signs are also good opportunities for branding. While not as popular, base graphics can also be effective along with shelf graphics. Most of the shelf graphics are interchangeable since they often relate to specific products, while header, side, and base graphics tend to be more oriented to the brand in most cases.

Once you have a general idea of where you want your graphics, you will want to make sure you have the right art work in the right format to share with your display design team. It is good to have the art work available early so it can be used in developing realistic concept renders.