Drawing a Line in the Linoleum

Signs are a love it or leave it proposition for management and consumers. Some retailers say they are a valuable addition to any supermarket, showcasing important information for consumers that can help boost sales of most products. Others say they are an annoyance that clutter the aisles with uncalled for materials that confuse and even depress the shopper. These critics view signs as design elements gone awry.The problem comes when trying to decide how much signage a retailer really needs and how much is too much? What is the operator's threshold of tolerance for point-of-purchase signage? Where will he or she draw the line over which just one more sign will turn the store from a smart design to a cluttered mess?With well over 30,000 SKUs gracing the shelves and refrigerated cases of the average supermarket, signage plays an extremely valuable role in helping differentiate one product from another, announcing promotions and boosting sales. Obviously, vendors love these types of signs. A recent survey from Point-of-Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) found that 27% of all the brands audited in supermarkets were supported by in-store advertising. When the group looked at convenience stores, the percentage of audited brands that were supported by in-store advertising rose to 47%. To put things into perspective, the lower figure of 27% means that hundreds of different advertising messages were still being strewn around the supermarket. This situation can turn into a designer's nightmare. Any placement of in-store advertising changes the look and feel of the area around the display. The sign or display is now the initial focus for the consumer, with the message on the sign secondary.Before I go any further, let me make clear that I recognize the necessity of having adequate signage in the supermarket. No more effective method exists to communicate information about a product or service with shoppers. A gourmet cheese case without informational signs telling consumers about the diverse array of exotic cheeses is a wasted opportunity, for example. Offering a catering service in the deli without advertising and promoting it in the store is just foolish, and a meat department that doesn't display proper storage and cooking precautions is illegal. Informational signs help make the shopping experience in the store a more convenient one.Promotional signage is more of a problem today due to the current nature, quantity and variety being offered to retailers. There is no question that promotional in-store advertising increases sales of the product that it is pitching. In many cases, that increase can be significant. POPAI's recent study of C-stores showed a sales increase of between 5% to 13% on products that were accompanied by in-store advertising. In fact, mentioning "savings" or "cents off" in advertising boosted sales 36%. Last year, the organization found similar results for supermarkets. It's no wonder that most retailers allow vendor-generated advertising in their stores and put up their own signage. However, these materials must be integrated into the overall design of the store. According to the Food Marketing Institute's Facts About Store Development 2002, the average new store spends about $2.88 per square foot on decor. Given that the average new store has about 33,500 square feet of selling space, that's almost $100,000 invested in store decor alone. Add to that figure the much larger costs of merchandising fixtures and design services, and it's easy to see why operators are wary of jeopardizing their design investment to sell a few more cans. According to companies that assist retailers in the implementation of in-store advertising, operators are demanding that product marketers supply signage that conforms to their design image and adds to the uniform look of the store. This is a change that has been a long time in coming. Brand marketers who have always had a vested interest in getting their in-store materials to stand out from the rest of the store are now trying to achieve awareness for their message within the confines of a unified store look. This is a task that is hard to achieve. It takes cooperation between the brand marketer, the companies that supply merchandising fixtures or promotional display equipment and the retailer. To succeed, all the parties must work together on store promotions, but ultimately it is up to the retailer to take the lead and set the conditions and boundaries for in-store advertising.

Drawing a Line in the Linoleum

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