Effective Point-of-Purchase promotions
By Brenda Hodgins

Point-of-Purchase displays have a huge influence on consumer purchases for items for which they do not have brand loyalty and for impulse items. Inexpensive, POPs compare very favourably against advertising and other promotional expenses. And, retailers are typically receptive to suppliers’ offers of Point-of-Purchase merchandise. Large Displays, Counter Displays and Shelf Talkers all play a role in an effective POP promotions strategy.

Well positioned Large Displays, such as at the end of the aisle, closest to the door, have the ability of affecting sales of a particular product significantly. Although research results vary, it is clear that the sales of a particular product multiply when properly positioned1. In order to
maximize buyers’ interest, merchants should change Large Displays regularly.

Counter Displays most often used for low cost impulse items. Retail liquor stores make good use of well organized package displays for small gift packs (for example a collection of 3 to 5, 50 ml bottles of various flavours of a specific brand), individual ready to drink shooters, corkscrews, wine toppers and the like. The displays here should be eye-catching, yet compact enough so as not to obstruct visual contact between customer and cashier.

Shelf Talkers (also called Shelf Screamers) are small signs that are displayed on, or hung over the edge of, a retail store shelf. The importance here is to ensure the talkers are attention-grabbing and informative. Copy should be brief but
informative. Ratings by critics or medal-winning status denote what many consumers believe to be objective, reliable information. Sensory descriptions can also positively influence purchase decisions.

A 2007 study of wine shoppers in Australia found that the average total time spent browsing in a wine store was just four minutes, with less than one minute in front of a particular retail shelf. “Except for highly involved wine drinkers who enjoy the search process, many wine consumers are overwhelmed by the number of wines available to them in a retail store. At the same time most wine buyers want to make a quick decision2.” Following experiments which measured the impact of Shelf Talkers, the study recommended “personal retailer consultation” complemented by “suitable shelf information.”

While many promotional materials must meet certain specifications and be submitted for approval for use in B.C. Liquor Stores, “Shelf Talkers containing product information do not require pre-approval from the Promotions department. Store managers will use their own discretion in the approval of informational Shelf Talkers.”3

What’s new in mobile applications
A wide spectrum of businesses, including liquor retailers and suppliers, has the potential to benefit from the new “bar code-on-steroids”: the Microsoft Tag. Tags can be placed on billboards, magazine advertisements, posters, product packaging, signs, business cards, catalogues, and point of purchase displays.

Consumers who have downloaded the free Microsoft Tag application take a photo or scan the Tag using their ordinary, fixed-focus camera phone. Depending on what the business has chosen to embed, the user will be connected to more information, exclusive discounts, movie trailers, video clips, exhibit details, maps and directions, and much more.

Pocket Cocktails offers a fun twist to more contemporary, text-based bartending applications. It uses large, high res pictures and provides a fast, engaging and entertaining user experience. A fun “shaker” feature allows the user to select cocktails at random by literally shaking the phone. While serving up the drink image, recipe and ingredient list, the iPhone spits out a colourful collection of shaker noises and catchy phrases.

The new Drinks Matcher is fast and easy and provides drink matches for more than 200 cheeses, plus thousands more pairings for appetizers, main courses and dessert. “It’s like having a sommelier and a bartender in your pocket,” says Natalie
MacLean, creator of Nat Decants, Canada’s largest wine website. “We’re all busy… so we don’t have time to spend researching information online. We want to do a quick search while we browse in the liquor store… or order from a restaurant menu.”

BeerCloud provides consumers with information on pairing beer and food, locating their favourite beer in a local store, restaurant or bar, and pulling up a detailed description of a beer simply by scanning its barcode. According to Eric McKay, the creator of GreatBrewers.com, the organization that has brought this application to market, “BeerCloud simplifies the process of learning about beer at the point of purchase, choosing the perfect beer to pair with a specific food, and mapping the closest bars, restaurants, and stores that currently offer one’s favourite beers.”

Endnotes
1 Marketing-Basic Marketing: Point of Sales Displays, BusinessTown.com
2 Wine Marketing Group, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia, Centre for the Study of Choice, University of Technology, Sydney, & The Australian Wine Research Institute, Adelaide
3 The Beverage Alcohol Promotions Program for BC Liquor Stores