Point of Purchase Counter Shelf Display Ideas- Part I

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Counter space remains one of the most coveted areas in retail stores. Like beach front property, its value can be attributed to its relative scarcity compared to floor space. Given that competition for retail counter space is intense, it&#;s all the more important to create compelling and effective merchandisers that will win over retailers as well as customers. Welcome to Part I of our blog series on point of purchase counter shelf display ideas. In this series, we&#;ll share 30 ideas for point of purchase countertop displays or convenience store display ideas that we hope will inspire you as you embark on your next POP display project.

Today, we&#;ll begin with our first 10 retail counter display ideas.

1. Dazzle Dry Nail Care Display&#; We designed this premium counter display for Dazzle Dry&#;s line of high-performance nail care products. Constructed of MDF with marble laminate, copper edge banding, and copper wire shelf fencing, this display features direct printed graphics, removable nail polish steps, and knock-down construction.

2. New Chapter Counter Display&#; New Chapter was looking for a companion counter shelf display to complement its higher capacity vitamin and supplement floor display. In order to create a natural, organic vibe, we made this display out of stained unfinished birch plywood. We direct printed the header, added antique bronze shelf sign frames with a graphic insert, and made the display knock-down for cost-effective shipping.

3. Bloom Farms Shelf Display&#; Similar to the New Chapter display shown above, we wanted to create a natural and organic look for the Bloom Farms counter shelf display shown below. We used cedar with an Eco-Treated finish and direct printed the header and footer logos. We designed slide-in shelf graphics, a full-length back panel graphic, a strip of astro turf, and a shelf pusher system for the middle shelf.

4. Essentiel Counter Display&#; The simplest type of a counter shelf display is a single shelf or platform display. This type of display can be just enough to set your products apart from other products displayed in your area while also providing an excellent way to promote your brand. For the Essentiel display below, we used clear coated edge grain carbonized bamboo plywood. We direct printed simple 1-color graphics on the front of the platform and added a PVC back panel graphic that was easy to remove for shipping.

5. The Fruit Guys Slanted Shelf Display&#; We created this 2-shelf counter display for The Fruit Guys. The design was intended to accommodate two boxes of fruit. We angled the shelves and added a shelf lip to secure the fruit boxes. We used solid pine with a grey washed finish, added a direct printed header sign, and created a knock-down design that was cost-effective to ship and simple to assemble.

6. Hanky Panky Acrylic Shelf Display&#; The 2-sided, 4-shelf Hanky Panky display is an example of a simple, small footprint clear acrylic display that can be adapted to accommodate a wide range of products. One of the features we like about this display is the direct printed acrylic header sign which has embedded magnets that are used to secure the sign after it is removed for shipping.

7. Ignite Acrylic Counter Display&#; This 4-shelf acrylic counter display has a small footprint that is perfect for convenience stores that have limited counter space. It is constructed of black and clear acrylic, has a locking rear door, and includes front and side direct printed graphics.

8. Minted Stepped Shelf Display&#; The Minted stepped shelf display was designed as a high-end greeting card display. We constructed the display using MDF and finished it with a durable premium laminate. We added a raised header sign with wire supports and a laser-cut 3D acrylic logo.

9. Kraken Counter Shelf Display&#; The 3-shelf Kraken counter display shown below was also designed as a companion display to a similar looking floor shelf display. We designed the counter display with MDF construction, a white melamine finish, black edge banding, direct printed graphics, and clear acrylic shelf fencing.

10. Roshambo Baby Counter Shelf Display&#; The two pictures below show the open and closed version of a counter cubby shelf display we designed for Roshambo Baby&#;s line of unbreakable polarized kids&#; sunglasses. We constructed this display using pre-finished birch plywood with direct printed inside back panel graphic and a fold-out half door with graphics on both sides. The display featured strong messaging, shipped well, and could be set up with the half door open or closed.

Don&#;t miss Part II of our series on point of purchase counter shelf display ideas in which we will review 10 more examples that we hope will inspire you.

Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.

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Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.&#;s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.

His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.

Countertop space in retail stores has always been in short supply. As many retail chains experiment with smaller footprint stores we expect countertop space to continue to be at a premium. If you are a product company looking to secure countertop space, you will increase your chances of success if you can sell the retailer on a custom POP display that is compelling for the countertop.

So what makes for a compelling countertop display? In this blog, we&#;ll look at some of the key factors to consider in making your countertop display successful. In our experience, compelling countertop displays have a common set of characteristics:

1) Small footprint- Our definition of compelling includes not only the consumer&#;s perspective, but also the retailer&#;s. Given that countertop space is at a premium, part of a compelling solution for the retailer is to have as small a footprint as possible. Retailers still calculate sales per square foot so trying to maximize that equation for the retailer is important to keep in mind. In addition to a small footprint, make sure your display is not too tall. We generally recommend keeping counter displays no taller than 24&#;, or maybe 27&#; at the max.

2) Functional/Versatile- The display must be functional and versatile. What that means is that it must be able to work equally well in a variety of retail settings. In some stores, you might secure countertop space that can be viewed from 360 degrees. In that case, a 4-sided stationary fixture might work fine. But, in a small boutique your display might be jammed in a countertop corner location where is has to spin in order to show product on all 4 sides. In many cases, the product manufacturer does not know the exact location for the display so it&#;s best to ensure your design will work in virtually any location.

3) Eye-catching- From a design standpoint, you need to make sure your display is eye-catching. Be sure that it will stand out from the sea of other displays and visual stimuli that shoppers encounter in the store. Think about whether your product is a destination product or an impulse item. Chances are that if you are positioned on the countertop, you have an impulse item although that is not always the case.

As you work toward a final design, think about how you can get a disinterested shopper to feel that impulse and reach for your product. In addition to having a price point that will drive impulse sales (often less than $10-$15), your product must have a clear value proposition for the consumer and must look really attractive on the display.

4) Serviceable-   Making your countertop display serviceable starts with making it easy to assemble or having it arrive to the store fully assembled. Furthermore, in the design phase of your custom POP display, make sure you think about all of the elements of servicing the display. Consider how easy the display will be to refill and keep looking nice. Think about how easy it will be to clean the display. Not all displays are properly maintained in retail stores, so before choosing a black MDF base for example, think about how the base will look with a thin layer of dust.

If your are compelled to tell your product&#;s story and would like to include a brochure with your display, think about the servicing aspects associated with refilling the brochures once they are out of stock.

Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.

Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.&#;s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.

His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.

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