When we get into consumer role, we use our eyes as the dominant sense. Shop shelves are our main target. In that case the field of product display in shops is an extremely important aspect. It is called visual merchandising.
In this article we have collected some examples of the most popular POSM (Point Of Sale Materials) placed on the store furniture. Thanks to their use we are able to highlight the shop shelves and the products placed on them. We can find traditional solutions, as well as more modern ones. Our experience as a manufacturer of shop furniture, working for years with products on the shelf, allows us to identify most effective solutions for your business.
Shop shelves – battleground of customer’s attention
On average 60% of shoppers decide on which brand and product to buy while standing in front of the shelf
Source: Nielsen “The Smart Shelf: Your Pathway to Winning in Retail.” 2020
Sales shelves are the final straight and finishing line in the race to win the customer’s attention. This is where the decisive round in the battle for sales takes place. Research by Nielsen shows that around 60% of purchase decisions are made at the shelf.
Another study into the customer behaviour of alcohol brands found that 24% of customers made an additional, unplanned purchase just because ‘the brand caught their eye on the shelf’.
That’s why it’s so important for retailers, marketers and brand managers to make sure their product is highly visible on the shop shelf. Better product visibility, while maximising shelf potential, translates directly into increased sales.
In that scenario, what ways do marketers use to make sure their products take advantage of shelving and its sales potential?
Planogram
The starting point for the marketers work is the planogram, the scheme for the proper arrangement of products on the shop shelves. Most often, it is the sales chain managers who draw up such a plan and it depends on the agreement between the chain and the supplier whether a given product will be placed on the ‘top’ or ‘bottom’ shelf. Obviously, the best selling products are those placed at the consumer’s eye level, so the battle for that premium spot on the shop shelf is the first stage in the marketers’ battle for better sales.
Once the marketer has secured the best place and filled the shelves with his products, he faces another visual merchandising issue: the need to stand out from neighbouring brands. It is difficult to have a situation in which only one product occupies an entire shelf or store furniture. This is where a whole family of tools – POSM – comes in. They are installed on the shop shelf to achieve sales targets.
POS Materials on shop shelves
The first group of POSM solutions we know well from every visit to a shop. They are especially common in big-box stores, where there are a large number of different shelves, racks and products. Below, we have listed the four most commonly used traditional POSM tools to support product visibility on shop shelves.
Price Bar (Price tag)
The price bar and the so-called “price tag” are mandatory elements on every piece of shop furniture and on every shelf in the shop. Therefore, one of the most popular and inexpensive ways of distinguishing a product on sales shelves is a paper insert for the price list. A properly graphically designed insert, consistent with the brand and product colours, extends the brand’s reach to a larger portion of the shelf. An insert placed in the shelf directly underneath the promoted brand’s products draws the consumer’s attention to that particular spot. Often the price strip inserts extend over the edge of the shelf ensuring even better brand visibility and drawing the consumer’s attention to the shelf and its specific areas.
Shelf-talkers
Also known as shelf-stoppers, stoppers or shelf-liners, these are small dividers, usually made of printed plastic. They separate a group of products of one brand from the others which are next to it. It is a kind of navigation element, which shows the customer where the brand he is looking for is located. Both price list inserts and shelf-talkers should be graphically consistent with the branding and packaging of the product. Shelf-talkers also come in different shapes and sizes, depending on the brand, industry or available shop shelves space.
Wobblers
This very simple yet effective tool takes advantage of our atavistic reflexes. As natural visual learners, we pay even more attention to moving objects in our field of vision. This fact is exploited by wobblers: lightweight graphic elements that are attached to the shelf on a flexible, clear plastic strip. Thanks to this construction, wobblers move and catch the consumer’s eye. For this reason, you may come across other names such as ‘dangle’ or ‘nod’.
Podium
POSM are also called distractors. Anything that disrupts and breaks the monotony of rows of shelves and products catches the consumer’s attention. This principle is used by structures that raise the promoted product above the others. Thanks to this, we draw attention to this place already from a distance. Podiums come in various forms and sizes. Above all, however, they can draw the customer’s attention to the entire shop shelves from a distance.
Highlighting products on the shelf with LED
In times of fierce competition in the market, the use of traditional POSM materials may no longer be enough. More advanced tools to distinguish products on shop shelves include various types of lighting. LED technology allows for wide application of backlighting at relatively low production, installation and operating costs. Perfecta, as a manufacturer of specialised shop furniture, has many years of experience in this field. Due to its small size, LED backlighting can be used in several ways.
Highlighting products
Shop shelving units with LED strip on the front of the shelf allow the product packaging to be illuminated. Thus graphic elements, brand and colours become more visible. By using appropriate LED profiles and other elements on the shelf, we can illuminate selected parts of product packaging. This allows us to highlight selected graphic elements and limit lighting of competitive products. Spotlighting products better exposes the product and brand against the background of others. This enhances visibility and shows the shop shelves and their specific area in a different way.
Illuminated POSM
Most of the aforementioned traditional POS materials can be found in an illuminated version. Backlighting becomes an additional asset to increase their effectiveness. Illuminated price strips, edge-lit stoppers or mats that illuminate products from below are just a few of the many possibilities. The element highlights a specific place or several shelves, filling the shelves in a variety of ways.
Light frame
One of the procedures we use is to place an illuminated frame around selected products. This allows for an additional distinction of the promoted brand, which covers given sale furniture or specific shop shelves.
Promozone
In a situation where many illuminated elements are mounted on shop shelves, exceptional measures are needed to make the product stand out. This is particularly the case with shop furniture for cigarette sales. In this case, it is a good idea to use promozones. This is a box placed on the shelves or suspended between them with a suitably arranged product display. Additional elements are often used, e.g. graphics, a glowing frame or edge-lit fluo plexi. Promozone’s task is to make the product stand out on a shelf where many other promotional elements have already been used. Therefore, both its execution and arrangement should show the product or brand in an unusual way. Shop shelves with promozone is an ideal way to distinguish a particular product, without having to redesign the entire piece of furniture.
Color Coding
By using appropriate filters in the form of coloured foils, we can add any colour to the lighting. If we additionally make use of the principles of colour psychology, our influence on perception will enter an even higher level. This allows advanced management of product categories and will present the shop shelves from a completely different perspective.
Light and movement
Availability of LED technology allows to increase useage of backlighting. Many products of different brands on one shelf can benefit from it. So how do you make your products stand out in these conditions? Among the most advanced tools for highlighting products on the shop shelves are control systems that set light in motion. With such systems, LED strips can blink, flash or light up sequentially. Similar to wobblers among traditional POSM materials, the introduction of movement in the lighting of products allows them to stand out even better.
We can help you to differentiate your products, using shop shelving and its potential
See also: 8 ways to speed up work in your shop
If you’re a retail marketer, marketer or brand owner, it’s probably your job to highlight products on your sales racks. If you are wondering which solution is best for you and your brand, contact our specialists. Based on many years of experience in the production of furniture and shop shelving we will advise you on the most effective methods of promoting your products in the shop. Perfecta being a manufacturer of shop shelving offers you years of experience, knowledge and a team of specialists to choose the most optimal version for your business. Also sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with our blog. You are also welcome to visit our facebook profile oraz YouTube channel.
