Customized interior retail displays are an essential component to any merchandizing strategy, but the word “strategy” is key. Merchandizers have a seemingly limitless array of methods to increase sales based on product display in retail stores. However, retail display types are not necessarily interchangeable. Selecting the right type of display – starting with whether you need a temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent display – will make all the difference in achieving your goals within your budget.
Here’s what you need to know to get started.
What Is an Interior Retail Display?
Interior retail displays showcase products, brands, or ideas with the aim of influencing consumer decisions. There are dozens of types of displays in retail settings, each offering its own advantages based on purpose, location, and budget. But they all share one goal: to move product.
Retail displays can be as simple as shelf talkers and dump bins or as clever as 3D displays and custom store fixtures. Based on need and lasting power, interior retail displays can be made from wood, plastic, glass, wire, metal, cardboard, and even paper. A solid merchandizing strategy will create a mix of display types to elevate brand awareness in a retail setting.
Why Is Display Important in Retail?
Brands have just a few seconds to influence consumers in retail settings. Strategic, well-designed and professionally fabricated instore displays can cut through the visual noise to win much-coveted attention.
That’s not just an opinion. Studies show that displays are highly effective at influencing and driving sales, and that shoppers remember signage and displays as important parts of their shopping experience. Retail displays play an outsize role in building product and brand awareness and can even enhance cross-merchandizing opportunities.
What Are Different Types of Interior Displays?
At the most fundamental level, custom interior retail displays fall into three categories: temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent. Each has its own place in the merchandizing strategy:
1. Temporary Retail Displays. These types of displays are just that: temporary. They are best suited for time-sensitive promotions, such as seasonal or short-term offerings. Temporary product display examples include countertop displays, end caps, shelf talkers, and banners. The key to success is to stand out with attention-grabbing design.
2. Semi-permanent Retail Displays. Semi-permanent displays are designed to hold up over a longer term than temporary displays, but they are not permanent fixtures. They are well-suited for campaigns, cross-merchandizing, or brand features. Examples include freestanding displays, gondola displays, pallet displays, and floor graphics. These types of displays are a great opportunity for building awareness through higher visibility and repeat encounters.
3. Permanent Retail Displays. Permanent displays are unique retail fixtures that are integrated with the retail environment to guide the shopping experience on an ongoing basis. Examples of these types of fixtures include custom shelving, garment racks, retail display tables, display cases, or a menu board at a quick-service restaurant. Because these displays are meant to last for years, if not decades, designing for the optimal customer experience should be paramount.
What Makes a Good Store Display?
Effective retail displays are built on a strategy that prioritizes engagement, context, theme, and high-quality execution.
Naturally, the primary goal of any display is to attract attention. However, eye-catching does not always translate to engaging. The colors, font, and graphics need to strike the right balance to avoid being busy.
Likewise, context matters. How will the display fit into the broader environment? This will help determine the right size to maximize space at a scale that fits the product.
Effective retail displays are also built around a theme. Are you promoting a single product type? Or seasonal products? Maybe you have a new product launch to promote? Or perhaps you want to cross-merchandize different products that tie together? Designing around a theme will ensure the display is orderly and engaging rather than cluttered or confusing.
And finally, the quality of the display matters. The design needs to pop with crisp colors and high-resolution graphics. A poor print job will undo all of the strategy that went into creating the display.
How Do You Find the Best Retail Display Manufacturer?
The best retail display manufacturers understand the strategy behind compelling retail displays.
At KDM, we build on more than 50 years of experience to deliver full-spectrum retail marketing solutions for businesses across a range of industries. More than a vendor, we pair the biggest and best printing methodologies with family-owned accountability to deliver fully customized, high-quality solutions and products. By offering in-house design, management, and execution services, we can provide end-to-end support for our clients — from prototyping and production to distribution and installation.
No challenge is too big, and no ask is too small. Check out our retail solutions or contact us today to get started.
