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POS/POP taking the same route through the store, stopping at the same shelves and buying the same mix of products they’ve always bought. They might notice if one of their regular products is on special, perhaps even buying two, but even a directly adjacent product on special can fail to disrupt their routine if its message isn’t bold enough to break through. “Over time, a lot of people will start to form a pattern of shopping behaviour,” Ms Yule said. “For example, when they walk into a store they always start with fresh produce, then they work their way down the aisles. However, there are also those choosing the opposite approach, so their fresh produce is on top. “From the early days of retailing, shop design, store design and even shopping mall design have been based around how to control customer flow to expose shoppers to more stalls, more products and more opportunities. “There are thousands of studies looking at the behaviours of people as they walk through stores including tracking where their eyes scan, learning what they look at, and what types and sizes of product they want,” Ms Yule said. “This is why so much research also goes into the power and placement of the product, be it by product type or product category. “We know brands would love their products presented as a brand, but retailers will argue that isn’t the way that people shop. The retailer is more interested in the purchase.” Now you see it Having brands displayed in a category and competing next to each other on the shelves makes the deployment of switch messaging simple, but the shelves themselves can make it difficult to achieve an impactful display. Shelf talkers and aisle fins certainly make a difference, but for greater impact, brands are increasingly using customised POP displays because of their flexibility and almost limitless capacity for customisation. They can be placed anywhere a retailer chooses, adjacent to the category or off location, and repositioned at any time. Custom POP displays are not only eye-catching, but being a physical object, when positioned well they can disrupt the habitual or routine shopper who otherwise pays little attention to promotional shelf signage. They also cause no problems in terms of sustainability as they’re almost all made from recyclable corrugated cardboard. The growing use of custom POP displays has led to the emergence of several companies specialising in their manufacture, although with many based in South-East Asia, distance and logistics can make lead times a challenge. In addition, the risk of import delays due to COVID-19 might be a concern at a time when retailers need to be agile and quick to respond to market trends. Recognising these challenges and the growing market for POS display solutions, Australian cardboard manufacturer Abbe Corrugated has expanded its operations. In addition to making most of the corrugated cardboard used by Australian industry, the company now makes fully customised POS solutions and is active in hundreds of retail locations. “We can supply anything the client needs, including small countertop displays, towers, pallet sized designs or even four-pallet displays,” Abbe Corrugated New Business Development Manager Rob Sulfaro told Retail World. “We can design POP displays from the ground up or we’ll happily work to a client’s specifications. Having manufactured the units, we’ll usually supply them to a distribution centre but can deliver them wherever a client wants. They’re generally sent as flat packs in shippers, ready for the client’s merchandisers to assemble and install in stores. “We also have the capability to offer something Coles and Woolworths have been requesting recently, which is to supply the DCs with displays already assembled and pre-packed with product. “Sitting down with the client and understanding what they want to achieve is really important to us. It could be a campaign on vitamins which the client wants to run in an off-location display in 800 Woolworths stores right across the country. “Sometimes it’s extremely specific, and clients ask for this product on that shelf, another product on the next shelf, and a third product on a different shelf. Other times we might be tasked with coming up with the design ourselves, with the only stipulation that we make sure it stands out in-store. “Having received the client’s brief, we’ll go through industrial design, weight testing, graphics design and all the other processes. We’re able to design and quote within five to six business days and from there we can have the finished product ready in three to four weeks including a printed sample.” When time or budget is key, companies can select an existing product from the Abbe POS Displays range, which is promoted as a cost-effective and versatile solution for brands and available for viewing at abbedisplays.com.au. “Being the manufacturer of the cardboard used, we’re even able to compete on price with manufacturers from South-East Asia,” Mr Sulfaro said. “With so many brands wanting to support local Australian manufacturers, that’s really important.” POP touchpoints By definition, POP implies any visual display or messaging encountered at, or very close to the goods for sale, but retailers shouldn’t let proximity limit their POP strategy. Other touchpoints can be integrated in a wider promotional strategy, drawing shoppers toward key in-store POP locations. This brings into play a range of additional messaging possibilities TO PAGE 68 AUG, 2020 RETAIL WORLD 67