All Roads Lead to Point of Purchase

Customers may admire a store's decor elements, comment on the wall graphics and marvel at the beauty of the curved display cases, but in the end they shop the shelf. The point of purchase (POP) is also often the point of decision. It has been estimated that as much as 70% of the purchase decisions in supermarkets are made at the POP. So, the shelf and the promotional areas adjacent to it are actually where the rubber meets the road in terms of product sales.What this means for retailers is the store's success ultimately revolves around its execution at the shelf level. The way the shelves are merchandised, the layout of products and the design of informational and promotional materials all combine to help sell the products, as well as create the general image of the store.Unfortunately, shelving is often overlooked as a critical design element when the store is planned. The type, model and color of the shelves are always specified, and their placement is noted on the floor plan. However, too many stores go no further then these preliminary POP designs and are content to take the basic floor plan and implement a standard planogram for each product category. The number of supermarkets merchandising product on bare white shelves with paper shelf labels pasted on the front rails is too numerous to count. POP displays are obviously more effective when a cohesive merchandising and display plan are in place."I think the supermarkets and some of the mass retailers were a little bit sterile [in shelf display design] in the past," says Paul Bloom, vice president of marketing for Cleveland-based FFR Inc./Fasteners For Retail. "They are now getting more design oriented and more visual merchandising oriented from the equipment they use on up to the lighting. You're gonna see more and more of this. This also goes for the visual areas of signage and the materials used to support that signage -- it's all got to work together."One of the problems in the past was that even when stores tried to convey an upscale look and image throughout most of their facilities, they failed to carry that upscale feeling onto the shelves. In part, operators were neglecting to add pizzazz to the center store areas, even when the perishables and certain HBC sections were made to look like European food halls and department store cosmetic counters.Creating POP displays that foster the store's overall image and add sizzle to the products, while holding them in an organized fashion, takes a little planning, but shelf management products can help the retailer. The same is true for materials that support POP promotional materials and advertising. Retailers are becoming increasingly more strict about the manufacturer-supplied signage that they will allow displayed in stores to avoid clutter and ruining the store's image. They are also beginning to realize that the method in which those signs are hung, and the materials used to hang them, can also derail a carefully constructed store image."If you're putting in upscale colors and visual merchandising, you have to bring everything else along with it," says Bloom. "For instance, we've got a whole new line of Elite banner hangers, which is an upscale line of all-aluminum hangers that comes in three profiles and two colors. These hangers continue the feel of the rest of the store, as opposed to bringing upscale fixtures and wall graphics and then hanging a piece of foam core on a string from the ceiling."Retailers are creating focal points on their shelves that draw shoppers' attention to particular products or even whole categories. Making a portion of a shelf jump out at the shopper is nothing new; it has been the function of POP advertising to draw the consumer's eye to a particular product for well over a century. However, it has to be done in an organized manner, otherwise the hodgepodge of shelf signage and hangers turns a focal point into a sea of clutter where every message is trying to overpower the others. Under these conditions, products on the shelf will become hidden by the signage of other products, and instead of directing shoppers, shelf clutter will cause them to spend too much time searching for products. The chaos theory of shelf merchandising is far from the most effective method of selling products. People are investing in using the shelf better, keeping the product well forward and well faced to increase impulse buying."Grocery stores are still mainly using adhesive labels, but there's a slow shift toward paper labels," says Joyce Cress, director of marketing at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based FAST Industries. "Our Omni Channel can be used to save on the time it takes to change paper labels. The plastic channel adheres to the metal shelf and has a patented locking label system. It reduces the time and cost of changing adhesive labels by about 85%." The system also has sign attachments to hold POP materials. A very recent development at FAST is the new line of metal display hooks and wire baskets. This marks the first time that the company has brought out a line of wire products.The shift toward placing more emphasis on the way the shelf looks and is organized is not just a matter of giving the consumer the right impression, or even making the shelves look good. For many retailers, maximizing shelf sets is a function of real estate. Pundits have traditionally drawn the analogy between a supermarket's shelf space and real estate, but lately that metaphor seems all too real. In most geographic markets, the prime sites for supermarkets have dwindled to a precious few and companies have to make due with smaller formats. It is, therefore, imperative that they make the most out of every linear foot of shelf space. Indeed, the manner in which products are displayed and organized on the shelf can greatly enhance the efficiency of that space."Throughout the retail industry, including in supermarkets, there is a trend toward increasing product density," says Tony Kadysewski, marketing manager of Trion Industries, based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. "To increase product density, retailers are looking at what they are doing in their stores. POP display and advertising is very important. To increase product densities there are things in fixturing that can also help. People are looking more at shelf management systems [dividers, pushers, auto-feed sales systems] to keep the product well forward and the shelves organized. These also address the problem of labor for keeping the shelves well stocked and well faced."Many of these shelf management fixturing systems are also able to accommodate POP and informational signage with little or no additional apparatus required. For instance, Trion's Shelf-Edge Labeling Systems is used to provide a home for the product label or price tag, but can also accommodate promotional labels. With the addition of an optional built-in clip, the Shelf-Edge System can hold sale or other promotional signage without cumbersome hangers. This creates a neat, cohesive look to the shelf, but still gives the promotional signage a great deal of visibility.According to Kadysewski, shelf-management systems can be introduced to the aisles with minimal costs if done with simple clips and standard shelf size signs, or a retailer can go high end with pull-out shelves and drawers. These pull-out shelf management systems, aside from their more upscale look, also give the maximum pack-out to a gondola because the space between shelves is minimized. The same principle applies to peg wall merchandising, in which space management products are available to create more organized and better merchandised displays. For instance, something as simple as an easier to use hook can improve the merchandising efficiency of the peg wall. Trion has developed two straight entry hooks -- Speed Set and Quick Back -- which go into the peg wall without having to tilt it up and down to lock the hook in place. This allows the retailer to more easily set up extra merchandising pegs and to re-merchandise the wall without taking the whole display down."More people seem to be looking for smart merchandising rather than bottom priced fixture costs," says Kadysewski.With an estimated $17 billion spent in advertising in the store each year, it's become big business to get a brand's message across to shoppers standing in front of product displays. In order to prevent the situation from getting out of hand, retailers have to make a lot of decisions as to what will be put up in the stores."It's a problem," says one West Coast supermarket operator. "Stores have to limit the number and size of the POP materials that they'll allow to go up, but retailers need to cooperate with their key brands, otherwise some of the perks associated with the promotions will disappear."Fixturing can ease this balancing act somewhat, as manufacturers make their gondolas and shelf management systems more versatile to fill more of a key role in supporting POP materials. Many fixtures now come with slots and channels for signage, or optional hooks, rods, frames and panels. Even the product pushers and back panels can be transformed into mini-sign holders in most cases."One way to control the environment in the aisle is to work with manufacturers in making their signage conform to your space and decor requirements," says Dina Crowell, president of San Francisco-based DSC Associates. "What we have done is make up a set of templates for our retail clients that they share with suppliers who want to bring in promotional materials. It becomes the brand's message and logo in a sign that completely complements the store's decor and ambiance. It has worked very well for the retailers and the manufacturers, and the shoppers seem to appreciate the effort as well."

All Roads Lead to Point of Purchase

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