First Impressions Are Everything: Why POP Displays Matter

From the time we're young, we're told not to judge a book by its cover. We're told to dig deeper into the pages to find the true value of the people, places and things we encounter.

The fact is, though, that how things look matter. We all judge in some way the outward appearance of things.

When it comes to the products we see displayed in retail stores, this means that if something isn't visually appealing to us, we're much less likely to interact with it -- let alone purchase it -- than we are if it looks good.

Here's a personal example that illustrates this perfectly.

My wife and I are renovating our bathroom. Recently, we were out looking for vanities. During our search, we stopped by a local big box hardware store. While the store had a huge selection of vanities, they were displayed haphazardly on the shelves. In addition, the drawers didn’t close right and hardware was missing.

Accordingly, they weren't attractive to us, and actually turned us off to the store as a whole.

So, even though we likely could have found a perfectly good vanity at this store --potentially for a cheaper price than at a specialty bathroom showroom -- we walked out.

We judged this book by its cover, and the big box hardware store -- as well as the manufacturers of all of the vanities displayed there -- didn't get a sale as a result.

This is a story that probably resonates with a lot of people. It goes to show that what products look like, and how they’re displayed, matters, because first impressions matter.

For product manufacturers and re-sellers, then, the lesson is that the more you take care of the visual aspect of a product through effective Point-of-Purchase(POP) displays, the more likely people are to be attracted to it.

Let's dive deeper into why this is, and what you can do to benefit from it.

Why Outward Visuals Matter

Real estate professionals will tell you that one of the most affordable and effective ways at increasing the value of your home is to improve its curb appeal.

This can include things as simple as keeping a well-manicured lawn and landscape, to as complex as adding a covered front patio or porch, walkway and adding attractive lighting.

Curb appeal is a marketing tool for those who are selling their home. It's the pretty wrapping that draws people inside the home to see what it's really all about. If a home doesn't look good from the outside, people won't care much what it looks like on the inside, or what its "bones" are.

A recent joint study conducted by the University of Alabama and the University of Texas found that homes with high curb appeal sell for an average of 7% more than similar homes that lack good curb appeal. In slower real estate markets -- where housing inventory is higher -- curb appeal can actually increase the premium on homes by as much as 14%.

There's no denying that exterior visuals and first impressions matter immensely for home sales, especially in this age when most people conduct their preliminary searches online.

This same concept applies to products sold in retail environments.

People are drawn to products that look good. This includes packaging and messaging, as well as every aspect of the POP display.

The Shop!

Association reports that the average Promotional Program Value (PPV) of POP displays is 499%. This means that for every $1 invested in POP displays, the average return in incremental sales is $4.99.

Product manufacturers can only realize this PPV, though, if the POP display itself is effective. If it's not, then your potential customers are more likely to walk away from your product or out of the store altogether -- just like my wife and I did when we saw the unattractive vanity displays.

The Depth of POP Displays Matters, Too

How your POP display looks at first glance is only one piece of the puzzle, even if it is one of the most important pieces. Like curb appeal for homes, the rest of the details of the product needs to match up with the initial impressions the POP displays give off. For homes, this means that everything inside needs to look good and flow well.

For POP displays, this means the product itself needs to match the first impressions that people get when they see the displays.

In other words, it's not enough to just have bright colors and flashy signs. You have to supplement that with good product descriptions, for instance, which can be reflected on the display itself and the product packaging.

There's a lot that goes into creating an effective display, which is why working with an experienced POP firm is so important.

At Rhino Global Solutions , we are a trustworthy and experienced POP broker that can handle every aspect of your POP display -- from design to production to logistics. We've done exactly this with thousands of displays for companies of all sizes across various industries.

Contact us today to find out more about how we can help take your retail products to the next level.

To your POP success,

Jerry