Special Reports

Marketers of apparel and fashion accessories are approaching the retail environment with a combination of creativity and common sense.

As American dietary habits evolve into an eat-on-the-run lifestyle, snack foods and candy play a more prominent role in the lives of consumers. P-O-P helps make snacks easier to find.

The need for consistency, simplicity and durability in merchandising is leading hardware stores and home centers to rely on vendors more for display maintenance, replenishment and inventory advice.

Promoting expensive durable goods is a whole different merchandising ballgame. Marketers of big-ticket items offer tips for producing smarter, harder-working P-O-P.

Retailers' desire for smaller, standard packages and more efficient displays is leading suppliers to consider new formats, interactive displays and other options.

There's no denying that the P-O-P industry is in a mode of mergers and acquisitions. What is not clear is what form consolidations will take and what the industry will look like when the shakeup is complete.

Communication keeps P-O-P projects on target, from initial brainstorming to in-store placement.

In the wake of retail movement toward open-sell, cosmetic marketers are becoming more strategic in their approach to in-store merchandising and P-O-P.

As marketers try to strengthen and broaden the appeal of their P-O-P programs, many have found that marketing partnerships can significantly intensify their in-store efforts.

As the computer hardware market matures, product marketers are finding that they must simplify their P-O-P messages to reach an expanding customer base and work more closely with retailers to gain placement.

Ethnic marketing is rife with challenges and opportunities for brand marketers who understand their audience.

It takes skillful maneuvering to outpace the competition in today's footwear market. Merchandisers reveal P-O-P strategies that help their shoes shine.