Retail customers are impulsive. They have an urge, perhaps a need, to buy things that were never on the shopping list. That’s not conjecture. In 2024 alone, 89% of shoppers spent $281.75 per month on impulse buys.
What triggers these purchases? In many cases, it’s point-of-purchase advertising (POP). MarkWide Research found that 80% of shoppers admitted to making unplanned purchases influenced by in-store displays.
Research shows that P.O.P. is effective. The big question is how retailers and brands can utilize P.O.P. to increase their basket size. Additionally, what attributes contribute to creating effective P.O.P. displays?
Top Messaging Strategies for Boosting Sales with P.O.P.
We’ve established P.O.P works, but what messages tend to work the best? We find the most effective P.O.P. marketing falls into one of four categories.
Promote Combo Deals
The easiest way to create add-on sales is to incentivize customers with a bundled discount. Buy one of something, it’s $5. Buy three, it’s $12.
Yes, your margins become slimmer, but the quantity sold and total profit increase. This tactic is especially effective for high-volume, high-consumption retail environments, such as convenience stores and quick-service restaurants. In those industries, buying more today doesn’t minimize the chance of customers shopping there again tomorrow. There’s also a bonus for your store. Bundled deals give your locations a perception of being a great value.
Showcase New or Seasonal Items
New and limited-release items are created to stimulate customer interest and drive sales upward. But they won’t work if your customers don’t know about them.
P.O.P. is among the most affordable and effective ways to market new or seasonal items. It heightens a customer’s awareness of the item in their moment of decision. That plays right into their eagerness for impulse buys.
Savvy retailers utilize P.O.P. displays as part of their yearly marketing plan to draw attention to new flavors, limited-edition items, or seasonal products, enticing curious customers to try something extra that wasn’t on their list.
Use Suggestive Selling
In many scenarios, the best way to upsell a customer with P.O.P. is to remind them of related products they will need.
We have all experienced one trip to the store becoming multiple visits to get everything that’s needed. Why? Because shopping lists often overlook many small detail items. That’s where suggestive pavement P.O.P. comes into play. For example, consider a store that is selling flashlights. A suggestive P.O.P. example is a shelf hanger that says, “Don’t Forget the Batteries.” Another is a sign reminding people to check their windshield wiper fluid while getting gas.
Create Urgency
Time pressure is a great motivator. When there’s a week left in an offer, consumers have time to consider the purchase. When it’s the final days or day, it becomes a now-or-never scenario. That is also true for limited quantities. Saying there are only ten remaining at that price stokes the emotional power of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Putting time and quantity pressure on customers typically results in more add-on purchases.
Educate and Build Product Value
Some products need more explanation than the package can provide to validate their usefulness or price point. A smartly messaged P.O.P educates consumers on product features, benefits, use cases, and differences. This is especially important for new product categories. However, it’s also true for many types of new products or when brands enter new markets.
Promote Demos and Trials
Sometimes, the bigger the price tag, the bigger the offer or experience needs to be. That’s why car dealers provide test drives. For items that cost $100 or more, it can be helpful to have a P.O.P. that offers a way to demo the product. Some examples of that include:
- Power tool display inside a hardware store, allowing people to use an impact wrench.
- A free-standing display at a bike shop promoting test rides in the parking lot.
- A selection of helmets that customers can try on for fit and comfort at a sporting goods store.
As our data shows, add-on sales are not limited to small ticket items. However, to foster higher-priced add-on sales, the P.O.P. may need to include more than a special offer.
Four Tips for Successful Upsell Displays
P.O.P. comes in all shapes and sizes. Regardless of the format you choose, there are four important guidelines to consider.
1. Visuals
The better your product looks, the more likely customers are to be attracted to it. Beyond meeting brand style guide requirements, ensure the images of your product are sharp, clear, and colorful. You’ll want to show the product in an idealized state. That typically requires a professional photographer and photo stylist (especially for food) to create a highly compelling image.
2. Education
Upselling is aided by education. A few established brands can just show their logo, and that’s enough. But for most brands, telling customers a bit about your product goes a long way.
Think of the basics:
- Who is it for?
- What does it do?
- Where can it be used?
- Why should a customer buy it?
Not every point needs to be answered in the copy. Many points can be addressed in an image. Nor do you have to account for each point we suggest. These are general guidelines. However, the list is a good starting point to see if you’re presenting a compelling argument that entices customers to add something extra to their basket. You should also know that effective POP must be able to be read in the blink of an eye. There’s an art to writing impactful copy that can be absorbed by shoppers within the brief moment it is within their field of view.
3. Offer
The number one trigger for an upsell or add-on sale is to include a promotion, sale, or discount of some type in the P.O.P. message.
It’s beneficial to promote a product, but offering an incentive for purchase is even more effective. The offer can be as simple as a dollar or percentage off, or a bundle offer that allows you to buy multiple items.
4. Placement
You got a great design, outstanding messaging, and a fantastic offer. But there’s another key point to consider — placement. Where your P.O.P. lives can make or break its effectiveness.
Most brands think they’d like to have a P.O.P. near their product. However, that’s not always the best location. Visibility is everything when it comes to P.O.P. The best location is often a high-traffic area, giving your P.O.P. exposure to as many customers as possible, even if that’s some distance from the product or the register.
There’s a second case where a P.O.P. should be placed away from your product.
Usually, one or two brands of bagels and salsas are located in the refrigerated section of a store. However, the majority of those product options are on standard store shelves. Outlier brands of bagels and salsa will often place signs in the expected shelf locations, saying, “Look for brand X in the refrigerated aisle.”
By guiding customers to your product within a store, you can increase sales.
Popular and Effective P.O.P. Marketing Options for Upselling Customers
Ready to Improve Your P.O.P. and Commercial Signage?
Creating compelling P.O.P. marketing that promotes larger basket sizes is only one aspect of in-the-moment marketing — a strategy created by Momentara. We turn in-store, out-of-home, and event promotions into useful touchpoints that sync with the customer’s routines to encourage behaviors. The Momentara approach makes your marketing messages a welcome, impactful, and natural part of the customer’s day.
Whether your marketing needs are focused on P.O.P. or if you’re intrigued by the omnichannel opportunities offered by Momentara, we invite you to reach out. We bring you the technology, experience, production, scale, resources, and national presence to build certainty and programmatic success.
