Gumbert noted that the most successful projects would be determined by whether or not they helped KDM’s clients increase their sales at the point of purchase or increased brand awareness. “We are confident that marketers will continue to realize the effectiveness of in-store POP especially with all the supporting data that shows as much as 60% of shoppers will make their buying decision while in the store, regardless of their shopping lists,” she explained. “There is also data to support that this method has greater ROI than other traditional advertising methods such as TV and billboards.” Gumbert said marketers are utilizing some very creative in-store methods of capturing which types of POP have the greatest impact on shopping behavior, including special eyeglasses that track what catches the consumers’ eye.

LSI

Rob A. Harrison II thinks the biggest impact wide-format has had on the retail market is the incredible amount of flexibility and options it has given advertisers to market their products. “A decade ago, everyone advertised the same way because print providers did not have the capacity or the media to match the creative imagination of the customer,” said Harrison, senior vice president of operations, LSI, Memphis, TN. “Today, the options are endless and creativity is no longer stymied because of the options available through wide-format.”

Beyond the standard POS options (banners, posters, etc.), LSI is seeing a lot of interest in wall graphics and wallpaper. “The wall graphics allow the customer to ‘go big’ and get very creative,” said Harrison. “You can turn an ordinary, solid painted wall or support beam into an attention grabbing marketing or artistic display.”

LSI, which uses Gandi Jeti 3324, Epson GS6000, and Vutek QS 3220 printers, recently produced custom wall graphics and menu boards for a local restaurateur who was rebranding his chain of stores in the Mid-South. The interior menu boards were direct printed to .75-inch birch panels. These panels contain only static information. Individual panels for different food products were printed on .25-inch birch so the restaurateur could alter his menu daily. Menu boards for the drive-thru were produced in a similar fashion on Sintra. The wallpaper was printed on a dreamscape material.

Primary Color

The growth of wide-format digital has allowed retailers to make their POP much more focused on a specific market, product, time, promotion, etc., according to Mark Truan, president, Primary Color, Inc., Dallas, TX. “Retailers are no longer required to create large numbers of the same piece to make the promotion cost effective,” he said. Wide-format has allowed much larger displays and attention-grabbing graphics.

Truan says in-store floor graphics and printed fabrics are hot because new materials and methods make them cost effective, attractive and very obvious to the prospective shopper/buyer.

Primary Color uses Durst and Vutek flatbed printers for its POP work as well as the banner and “soft sign” printing. “For best resolution printing we use our HP9000 solvent printer and the HP 65500 latex printer,” said Truan.

Yunker Industries

“Wide format allows retailers to create signing and communications hierarchy at the store level and the ability to create localized messaging and/or solutions,” said Jon Nedland, vice president, marketing and business strategy, Yunker Industries, Lake Geneva, WI. “What this does is assist in simplifying the shopping experience for consumers and creates a cleaner, more personal visual store environment.”

Nedland said the holiday season is always a big [no pun intended] time of year. “Over the last several months we have seen an increase in retailers looking to freshen their visual presentation through updated interior wayfinding and décor programs,” he said. “As a result of the current economic climate, the investment cost to retailers is lower than it has been in years. It’s also an environment where retailers are doing whatever possible to attract and retain consumers.”

Yunker utilizes Inca machines, specifically the Turbo and the S-20, which was added this year. The company recently produced and installed displays for a new multi-level store for a national retail chain. “A combination of signage and print methods were utilized, from wallpaper to wayfinding to seasonal and promotional signage, all printed on our Inca and Vutek machines,” reported Nedland. “The retailer set aggressive sales targets based on the location and, after 30 days, their sales targets were exceeded by double-digit percentages.”