Promotions at the point of purchase are an important marketing strategy for both online and in-store retailers. The strategy uses eye-catching and attention-grabbing promotions along the customer journey, and it works like gangbusters.
Point of purchase promotions that stick are strategic and help brands stand out both online and in-store. When done right, they help brands drive sales by causing customers to buy on impulse before bouncing.
Printed signages, shelf talkers, interactive digital displays, popups, and people also bought are some examples of point-of-purchase promotions that stick. While this strategy is reliable and proven to generate sales, implementing it can be daunting for first-timers.
Don’t sweat it! We’ve put together this guide to elaborate on the point of purchase promotions that stick and how to implement the strategy. So, let’s get to it!
What are Point-of-Purchase Promotions?
Point-of-purchase promotions (POP) are marketing materials retailers use to promote products online or in-store. They’re often placed strategically to grab buyers’ attention and cause impulsive buying.
Point-of-purchase is often used interchangeably with point-of-sale. While the two terms are closely related, the difference is crystal. Point-of-purchase promotions are displayed wherever shoppers are likely to make a purchase.
On the other hand, point-of-sale promotions are specifically displayed at the cash register where a buyer completes their journey.
Why Should Point-of-Purchase Promotions be a Priority?
The point-of-purchase promotions are proven to work since they generate an impulsive purchase before buyers leave a store. Below are the benefits of prioritizing point-of-purchase promotions over other marketing strategies!
1. Grab more Eyeballs
Point-of-sale promotions are often strategically located to grab customers’ eyeballs and attention. You can place them anywhere for buyers to interact with them. These can be high-traffic areas or alongside high-demand products.
In-store shelves and floors are great places to have them. You can also use popups on check-out pages for e-commerce stores.
2. Encourage Impulsive Buying
ResearchGate reveals that between 40% and 80% of purchases are due to impulse buying. Another study posits that more than 87% of US shoppers make impulse buys. Also, over 50% grocery at any grocery store sells because of impulsiveness.
Point-of-purchase promotions play a crucial role in these study findings. Buyers visiting a store are inclined to buy one or more products. Influencing them to buy more relevant products isn’t a hassle when you have a promotion strategically on their path.
3. Cost-effective
According to a Havard Business Review report, point-of-purchase promotions are more cost-effective than other marketing strategies like television commercials. In the study, it costs between 3 cents and 37 cents to reach 1000 people.
This is less than the $4.05- $7.75 it costs to reach people through a tv commercial. There’s no doubt installing point-of-purchase promotions is low-cost and more affordable.
4. Take Brand Awareness a Notch Beyond Packaging
Packaging is an excellent way to promote brand awareness. But sometimes, packaging alone isn’t enough to promote a brand. This is where point-of-purchase promotions come in handy. You can implement the strategy to take your brand awareness a notch.
5. Generate More Revenue
Overall, point-of-purchase promotions generate more revenue for advertisers and brand owners. One only needs to strategically position the promos to influence more impulsive buying.
How to Execute a POP Promo that Has an Impact on the Shopper?
Executing a POP promo that stands out requires both art and science. Success goes beyond placing the promos strategically to incorporating attention-grabbing designs. Importantly, you don’t want to treat POP promos in isolation.
Instead, you should incorporate them into your overal marketing strategy. Below are the details of executing a POP promo that impacts the shopper!
- Optimize promo sizes: you should use your thoughts to design the right size promos. Your promos shouldn’t be too small or big. Instead, you want to aim for a middle ground. You can check what your successful competitors are doing and mimic it.
- Understand your audience: the audience is an important part of your business. You should understand their purchase behavior to influence your strategy. For example, some buyers love impulsive buying while others don’t. Depending on the kind of audience you’re dealing with, you can tell whether POP promos will work or not.
- Place promos at strategic places: POP promos only work because of strategic location. You should ensure buyers can see and interact with them hassle-free. This is why you should have them on the shelves, floors, and at the cash register.
- Use Appealing designs: POP promos should be attention-grabbing, and one way to make it possible is by using appealing designs in your promos.
- Provide more value: you should think long-term about the customer value journey. This way, you can provide more value by suggesting relevant products as cross-sells. POP promo cross-sells benefit both the buyer and the seller. Buyers are often inclined to buy products on impulse if it’s relevant to the primary purchase.
Examples of Point of Purchase Promotions that Stick
Now that the basics are out of the way, it’s time to dive into some examples of POP promotions you can incorporate into your strategy.
1. Shelf Talkers
The shelf talker is a product promotion tag that hangs on an aisle shelf. They grab buyers’ attention, promote brand awareness, educate buyers, and display ongoing promotions.
2. Dump Bins
Dump bins are primarily used for small-packaging products like candies. People rarely go to the stores to buy sweets. But they’re likely to grab some when they see them. This is possible because of the attention-grabbing dump bins.
3. Free Standing Displays
Free-standing displays are often made of cardboard, are versatile, and allow room for creativity. So, you can model them to match your product shape. They also allow more flexibility with a product’s location and are easy to implement.
4. End Caps
End Caps are often placed at the end of an aisle. That’s also where they draw their name from. Usually, an end cap sits between two aisle shelves. This allows you to place your products in relevant locations without needing aisle shelves.
5. Floor Graphics
Floor graphics draw shoppers’ attention and can be placed anywhere, especially down the aisle. They should lead buyers to your products on the shelves. So, having them not far from the shelves is best.
6. Store Within a Store
Store-within-a-stores refer to a retailer inviting a specialty retailer to open a scaled-down shop in one of its store locations. The arrangement benefits both retailers, and the specialty retailer is inclined to pay the store owner a percentage of sales.
7. Interactive Displays
Stores with interactive displays provide customers with a digital experience. They’re more engaging and help buyers discover more about the products. This way, they can make informed buying decisions. This strategy works well in the clothing industry.
8. Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are an excellent marketing strategy today since most buyers spend the better part of the day on their phones. You can use your dedicated store mobile app to offer buyers coupons, in-app offers, and relevant promotions.
Try Our Software for Virtual Merchandise Planning to Improve Your Retail Strategies
Point-of-purchase promotions move the needle for many in-store and e-commerce retailers. But getting started can be daunting when you don’t get how POP advertising works. This complete guide is what you need to start. Also, don’t hesitate to contact us to try our software for virtual merchandise planning. This way, you’ll improve your retail strategies and influence your bottom line.
