POP Display.

Custom POP Displays, From One Prototype to a Short Run

A point-of-purchase display has one job: get the product noticed and picked up at the moment someone is ready to buy. The right format depends on where it will stand in the store, how much product it has to carry and how long the promotion runs. These are the main formats and what each one is good for.

Counter displays

A counter display, also called a PDQ or countertop unit, sits beside the register or on a service counter. It holds a small quantity of a compact product and often ships to the store already packed, so staff only have to open it and set it out. It suits impulse items, new product introductions and independent retailers with limited floor space.

Floor displays

A floor display is a free-standing corrugated unit with shelves, trays or bins, a printed header and usually a printed base. It carries far more product than a counter unit and gives the brand its own space away from a crowded shelf. Because it has to stay upright and loaded for weeks, the structure matters as much as the graphics, which is why a floor display should be prototyped and loaded with real product before a run.

End caps and club store displays

An end cap takes the fixture at the end of an aisle, one of the most visible positions in a store. Club store and pallet displays are built to arrive on a pallet and be shopped from it, so they are designed around the pallet footprint and the retailer’s own display rules. Both are larger builds, and both benefit from a sample the retail buyer can approve.

What to decide before you order

• Where it stands. Counter, floor, end of aisle or pallet. This sets the size and the structure.
• What it holds. The number of units and their weight decide the board and the supports.
• How long it runs. A two-week promotion and a six-month fixture are built differently.
• How it ships. Flat for assembly in store, or packed out with product and ready to open.
• What the retailer requires. Many chains publish size and height limits for displays. Send them with the brief.

Materials and print

Most POP displays are made from corrugated board: light, strong for its weight, recyclable and quick to cut. We print direct to the board and add wide-format graphics where a display needs them, so there are no plates to make. Each part is cut from the dieline on a digital cutting table, so there is no die to make either. That is what makes a single display, or twenty for a regional test, a practical order.

Prototype first, then the run

Every display starts with structural design around the product and the pack-out. A printed prototype lets you load it, photograph it and show it to the buyer. Once it is approved, the same files produce the run, whether that is a handful of stores or a wider rollout, and we can handle assembly and fulfillment so the displays arrive ready to set up. Our guide to packaging prototypes covers the process, the cost and the timing in detail.

Common questions about POP displays

What is the minimum order for a custom POP display? One. A single printed display is a normal order, and a short run starts wherever your program does.

What is the difference between a POP display and a retail display? POP display usually means a temporary promotional unit at or near the point of purchase. Retail displays is the wider term and includes longer-lived merchandising fixtures. We design and build both.

What do you need to quote a display? The product dimensions and weight, how many units the display should hold, where it will stand in the store, how many displays you need, and your artwork or logo. Request a quote and we will come back with a price and a timeline.