What Is a POP Display? POP vs. POS Displays Explained

What Is a POP Display?

The Point of Purchase display (sometimes POP can be referred also as Point of Presence) are usually complex, bright and attractive constructions with creative design and appealing marketing messages, that are used by consumer goods and retail products producers in their marketing campaigns to boost their sales.

There are different types of POP displays, and their type is determined by the marketing goal and their role in the marketing strategy. The goals could be to make the products visible and accessible, to increase sales, to inform about campaigns or promotions, to create brand awareness or strengthen brand recognition. Their role and purpose influence their size, location around the store areas, materials used and variety of special effects that are applied.

There is, however, one common feature for most POP displays – striking and creative design, bright colors and high-quality printing, bearing well-structured marketing messages. This is particularly important for promotional displays and seasonal product displays, where brands often have only a limited period to attract shoppers and communicate a specific campaign message.

In many cases, the POP can even have marketing persons in or around them, making product demos or answering customers' questions. Depending on the campaign, brands can also use interactive displays to present additional product information or encourage shoppers to engage directly with a product.

POP vs. POS Displays: What's the Difference?

As elements of a marketing strategy, POP and POS displays are members of one family and have more or less the same main purposes and many common features. The difference is mostly in the specific goals that are being served.

Unlike the POP display, the POS (Point of Sale) display is more directly oriented to immediate selling. The products that are promoted are usually cheaper, relatively smaller fast-moving goods. Unlike POP displays, POS displays can be seen mostly in areas with higher customer traffic – for example around the space close to the checkout cashier desks, or where queues of customers are being formed.

These high traffic areas are particularly suitable for impulse buy displays, where the objective is to make a product visible at the moment when the customer is already preparing to complete a purchase.

The main purpose of the POS display is to make a good more visible and accessible for the customers, provoking spontaneous, unplanned purchase decisions. This is why POS constructions can be smaller and even located on top of the counters – as close as possible to waiting customers. Small countertop POS displays are a common example of this approach.

In practice, there is considerable overlap between POP and POS terminology. A branded display can attract attention earlier in the shopping journey while also encouraging an immediate sale, meaning that the same construction may serve both purposes.

Common Types of POP Displays

POP displays can differ from one another by material used for construction, size and location on the store floor. There are many retail display options, allowing brands to select a format according to the type of product, available retail space and campaign objectives.

Floor displays

This is the biggest group in terms of variety of constructions and materials. A floor display can be a metal and glass construction for luxurious and higher-priced goods – for example jewelry or high-end perfumes. In some cases, permanent display cases are used when the products require additional protection while remaining clearly visible.

Floor displays can also include various plastic constructions with reference to the marketing symbols of the campaign, visual and sound installations conveying messages and information about the product and promotional campaign, or even printed floor stickers as part of a more complex and attractive marketing message.

Counter-top displays

These are usually smaller constructions, mainly from cardboard, but sometimes could also be metal or plastic. They are smaller with purpose – they are placed on the counters close to the checkout cashier desks.

The constructions are always allowing for placement of multiple small products from the same type – mostly candies, small electronic accessories and similar goods – making them easy to grab on the way to the cashier's desk.

Because of their location, countertop POS displays are commonly used to encourage last-minute and unplanned purchases.

End caps

End caps are specific constructions that are attached to the ends of the regular shop shelves in a store. Their construction is mostly plastic and metal with special hooks and hangers – for example standard “euro-hooks” – to attach multiple small goods, usually packed in special packaging adapted for hanging.

The goods put in such displays are usually accessories or related to the main goods available on the respective shelf. For example, various types of batteries at the end of shelves for electronics.

Some permanent end-cap systems can include wire displays, hooks or other types of merchandising racks that make it possible to present many smaller products in a limited area.

Smaller supporting elements such as shelf talkers can also be added to regular shelving or nearby displays to communicate prices, promotions or short marketing messages.

Dump bins

This is a freestanding POP/POS display that can be separated into two main categories. The first one is special stand constructions for product leaflets, catalogues, promotion information and other printed materials for take away by the customers.

The second type is the product bins – more spacious containers for direct sales of multiple products of a kind. These are POS displays, typically for cheap, fast-moving goods, or goods under promotion, that are put in the most traffic-intensive areas in the stores.

These bulk retail bins allow a larger quantity of products to be presented in one place and are particularly effective when individual product arrangement is not necessary.

Their purpose is to provoke non-planned, last-minute buys. Typical examples for products promoted using dump bins are cheap accessories, seasonal goods, holiday decorations and various treats.

Pallet displays

The main characteristic of the pallet display is that the complex construction of a display, designed to hold the products and convey marketing messages, is usually put on top of a standard-size pallet.

This makes easier the handling and relocation of the display around the store space. The POP constructions are mostly corrugated cardboard, but can also be metal racks.

Pallet displays are especially useful for larger quantities of products and can provide additional merchandise shelving or product storage directly within the promotional area.

Sidekick displays

Sidekick POP displays are special constructions, purposed to be placed along walls or within niches between or near the shelves.

These are usually rectangular constructions with many shelves and pockets, made from corrugated boards, but could also be metal with hooks and pockets. They have strict dimensions to fit the designated space and not to block the free passage.

They should also contain the goods and have the same standard goal to stand out from the main product shelves and attract attention to encourage sales.

Free-standing display units (FSDUs)

FSDU has different meanings. Apart from Free-Standing Display Unit, it could be translated also as Floor-Standing Display Unit. Free-standing is a slightly more general term than the Floor-standing display, which can be the opposite to CDU (Countertop Display Unit).

In fact, this is another term for Floor Standing POP display, but here is underlined the specific feature that the POP or POS displays are standing alone, apart from the main shelf space with products, and used as an additional sales space that offers more exposure and goods accessibility.

Because they can be positioned independently, freestanding POP displays provide brands with considerable flexibility when planning product placement within a store.

Choose the Right Retail Display

When selecting the right POP display for your marketing campaign, you have to evaluate a combination of several factors.

You should start with what your product is and what the marketing goals for the campaign are. The product – its shape, weight, packaging and price – will define the type of POP that will be needed. Choosing between the available retail display options should therefore begin with the product, campaign objective and expected location inside the retail store layout.

Product size and weight

The size and weight of the product are very important for the POP type selection. This is important for the designers when they start designing the construction and select the main materials.

POPs with longer expected lifespan would require different types of material and construction than those that are expected to stay in the stores just weeks or months.

Store layout

The construction of the POP/POS display has to be coordinated with the available spaces and locations around the store it will be placed.

Understanding the retail store layout is important because the construction has to attract customers' attention without blocking their way.

In some cases, the construction has to envisage space for presenters or consultants who would demonstrate the product or answer customers' questions.

The selected display should also work together with existing shelving, merchandising racks, promotional areas and other in-store elements.

Campaign duration

The campaign duration determines not only the type of the POP display but also the materials and even their assembly.

For example, a display that is expected to stay in the store for several months should be built with more rigid materials – special boards, plastic or metal frames. Such a display may contain a bigger variety of special effects, including light, visual and sound. In some cases, the construction should be designed envisaging possible updates and replacement of elements during the campaign.

Shorter campaigns and seasonal product displays, on the other hand, can often use lighter and more cost-effective materials such as corrugated cardboard.

Customer traffic

The main purpose of the POP/POS displays is to grab the attention of the customers and stimulate them to unplanned purchases of the promoted goods.

This is why the POPs are always located near areas with stronger customer traffic. These high traffic areas can include checkout zones, main aisles, aisle ends and other places where shoppers naturally slow down or gather.

Branding opportunities

POP and POS displays can provide considerable space for branding, marketing messages and campaign visuals.

Through custom printed displays, brands can coordinate the structural and graphic design with the wider campaign, helping improve product visibility and maintain a consistent brand identity inside the retail environment.

The possibilities for display customization can include structural shape, printed graphics, shelves, product holders, headers and interactive elements.

Budget

The money that is available in the marketing budget is one of the main factors determining the type, size, location and materials of a POP/POS display.

The design and production of a quality POP display is relatively costly, although some of the prohibitive factors are already being reduced with the massification of digital printing and cutting technologies.

Design Principles That Improve Display Performance

The design of a POP display requires highly trained specialists both for the structure of the display and its graphic design and aesthetic attractiveness. 

For some more complex displays with longer life expectation, even more specific knowledge may be required – for visual or sound effects, electrical installations etc. 

However, all displays used in a marketing campaign should be designed observing the following principles:

Visibility

The primary goal for those marketing tools is to attract the attention of the customers in a sea of products around them.

They should stand out from the main shelves, be very bright and visible. Apart from the creative design of the POP itself, this is being achieved with various special effects – visual and sound – high-quality printing and creative graphic design that should carry all the recognizable elements of the marketing campaign.

Clear signage solutions can also help customers quickly understand what product or promotion the display is communicating.

Product accessibility

The structure of the display has to be adapted to the available space and the arrangement of the rest of the shelves and aisles.

Product accessibility must be enhanced also by the way the display is designed and the available possibilities for product placement so that it could be easily taken by the customer – shelves, racks, hooks, pockets etc.

Good accessibility is particularly important for impulse buy displays, where customers should be able to notice and pick up the product without interrupting their shopping journey.

Messaging hierarchy

The overall visual design of a display should correspond to the standard rules of marketing messaging hierarchy.

This means that all messages towards the customers should be organized from the core idea down to the specific points and proof points, and all messages should be aligned with one another.

Structural stability

Even a POP display with shorter life expectation should be built strong enough to keep its shape and vision for the period of use.

The structural stability is subject to very knowledge-intensive design, including knowledge on the materials and the ways the structure may be reinforced with layers and folds. This is especially valid for the complex structures made of corrugated that are most widely used in the POP/POS industry.

Brand consistency

Brand consistency refers both to the graphic and structural design.

The POP should bear all elements of the marketing campaign, including logos, messages, slogans, shapes and even recognizable movie heroes or stars used in the specific promotion campaign. In many cases, the design of the structure of the POP will be subject to requirements for a specific form or recognizable elements – for example a spaceship or race car.

Interactive elements

In many cases, the POP display construction includes special visualization technologies that attract attention and have an even stronger influence on customers.

These elements could include TV or computer screens playing special marketing videos, touchscreens for interactive communication with the customers and leading them to the desired information.

Such technologies can transform traditional POP structures into interactive displays or even digital signage displays, allowing brands to show changing content, video, product information or campaign messages.

The POP display construction could also contain moving parts, visual and sound effects that are in accordance with important marketing campaign elements.

Materials Used for POP Displays

POP displays are made from various materials, including corrugated cardboard, paperboard, plastic, metal, and wood. The choice of material depends on the display’s design, durability, cost, and intended use in retail environments.

Corrugated cardboard

Along with Paperboard, Corrugated cardboard is the most widely used material for design and construction of POP/POS displays.

This is because it is a relatively cheap solution, available in many types and convenient for construction designers and digital printers.

The modern software solutions for constructional design offer libraries with multiple ready-made designs and key elements of a corrugated POP/POS display. They can be reused in different sizes and apply different graphic designs.

As materials, Corrugated and Paperboards remove many limits for creativity. The designers can create constructions with needed size, shapes and load, following well-known principles for handling the material, folding and reinforcing walls and panels.

These characteristics make corrugated particularly suitable for custom printed displays, temporary promotional displays and seasonal campaigns that require attractive graphics but do not necessarily require a permanent structure.

Paperboard

Paperboard is also widely used for smaller and lighter POP and POS constructions, particularly where lower product weight and compact dimensions allow a thinner material to be used.

It can be printed, cut and folded efficiently and is therefore suitable for smaller countertop POS displays, product holders and other short-term promotional applications.

Plastic

Plastic is used in cases when the display has to last months or even years.

For example, End-cap displays are considered as part of the regular shelves. Although they carry specific fast-moving goods, they should remain at the ends of the shelves as long as the shelf itself. So, most of the end-cap POPs are made of plastic and metal.

Metal

Metal is used in many types of POP displays.

Many of the long-life constructions are made with metal frames and other elements – glass, electric lights etc.

They differ from the standard product shelves with their design, attractiveness and the fact that they are located to stand out from the standard products and attract customers' attention in various ways. Metal is also frequently used for reusable wire displays, permanent merchandising racks and structures designed to carry heavier products.

Wood

Wood is also used for POP constructions – mostly in cases when the corrugated board or other types of rigid paper-based boards are not enough to guarantee the ruggedness and longevity of the display.

The wood may be used as a reinforcing frame and sometimes as main design elements, but it is a relatively costly solution and not as easy to replace or modify as the corrugated elements.

Sustainable alternatives

In recent decades many Corrugated companies have been developing different types of paper-based rigid boards specialized for rigid and long-lasting marketing display constructions.

Such materials are not subject to folding like corrugated or paperboard, but nevertheless are rigid enough to create a construction answering the requirements for POP/POS displays.

For brands looking for alternatives to plastic or heavier permanent materials, these boards can expand the available retail display solutions while maintaining many of the printing and structural advantages associated with paper-based materials.