Retail managers learn that if they find ways to subtly manipulate customers toward certain products, they can significantly improve profits. While there are a number of strategies designed to direct shoppers to high-markup items, POP displays are a simple and inexpensive method to draw attention to those products.

The Value of Impulse Buys

Impulse buys involve more than throwing a candy bar into a shopping cart with a week's worth of groceries. Consumer research has shown that two thirds of purchase decisions are made in the store and over half of purchases are made on impulse rather than from a shopping list. Retailers who can control those impulse buys control their finances. Onsite display signage is a key part of influencing shopper decisions.

Consider an overstocked item. They traditional way to move the merchandise is to put it on sale. However creative use of POP displays to draw attention to the product can increase sales without reducing the price. The store moves the item without cutting profits. The same strategy could be applied to discontinued items, encouraging shoppers to grab them before they are sold out.

Weakness of Mass Media

Retailers are recognizing that mass media advertising doesn't have the impact it once had. While it's still an important part of an overall strategy of promotion and branding, it's not especially effective at changing buying habits.

The problem is one of immediacy. A consumer sees a great advertisement for your products on TV and decides to buy it. However he's not going to jump in his car and drive over right away. Instead he makes a mental note to buy next time he's in the store. Meanwhile hundreds of competing thoughts eventually drive it out of his head. By the time he visits your store a week later, he's forgotten the ad.

POP displays trigger the purchase decision and allow the shopper instant gratification. When he sees the advertisement, all he has to do is reach out and grab the product.

Retailer-Manufacturer Partnerships

POP displays can be provided either by the manufacturer or the retailer. In some cases they can be designed and financed by both.

Manufacturers love POP displays because they encourage shoppers to buy their product rather than a competing one. Retailers love them because they increase sales. While retailers may not care which brand of microwave gets sold, they profit when shoppers influenced by POP displays grab one while on a shopping trip for something else.

Manufacturers and retailers are working together to create POP displays that benefit both of them. Displays can be created which complement the other display signage in the store while drawing attention to the manufacturer's products. This mutually beneficial arrangement works better than displays created by one party or the other.