Eye-catching signage
Point-of-sale (POS) signage is a highly useful marketing tool for any business wanting to promote its products and highlight any sales or special deals on offer. Done right, POS is a great way to catch consumers’ eyes, although in the same breath, it needs to be bright and unique enough to stand out from the busy market as other businesses battle to achieve the same goal.
With the pandemic seeing the retail and hospitality sector close their doors almost overnight, the last year has been a period of resurgence and growth. In this feature, we speak to some companies offering POS solutions about the latest offerings in the market, and the important role POS has.
Family-owned Brett Martin is a UK-based plastics manufacturer that exports to over 70 countries. The company manufactures a range of flat, corrugated and multiwall sheets from polycarbonate, aPET, PETg, acrylic, PVC, and foam PVC.
One solution offered is Foamalux, a moisture resistant substrate which can be used for POS which needs to be stored and reused again without the risk of mould or other damage. Foamalux Eco and Foamalux Xtra also contain reclaimed production waste and Foamalux is 100% recyclable so can be collected from retailers by recycling contractors.
As well as driving sales, Duncan Smith, sales director of Brett Martin highlights the importance of POS in keeping customers safe and providing peace of mind as we continue to navigate the effects of Covid-19.
As businesses start on the road to financial recovery, POS needs to
steer customers towards higher margin options and impulse purchases to
add vital revenue”
“As businesses start on the road to financial recovery, POS needs to steer customers towards higher margin options and impulse purchases to add vital revenue. The main tools and skills that are required will revolve around thinking strategically and creatively when it comes to addressing customer needs.
Brett Martin advises thinking strategically and creatively when it comes to addressing customer needs
“It’s important to understand their requirements and what type of POS will resonate with the end user profile they want to engage with. Once this has been established, companies need to learn what materials are best utilised for the project at hand – for example, do they need to be lightweight? Will they be exposed to UV rays? Will an assortment of colours or glosses be required?”
Once these queries have been established, the right solutions can be provided, and Smith advises businesses to align themselves with a knowledgeable supplier in these areas to support if needed.
Making the cut
Sign-makers with experience in the flatbed digital and cutting processes are well positioned to enter the POS sector, and Vivid Laminating Technologies has a solution for just this purpose.
Despite the company name, Vivid has moved into different technologies over the last few years and is now heavily involved in digital cutting and routing systems with its VeloBlade range. It also offers the Matrix range of digital foiling spot UV and laminating systems, the EasyMount range of laminators and mounters, and many other products and consumables. Through all of these solutions, Vivid serves the print, sign, exhibitions and point-of-sale industries.
In fact, the company recently revealed it has now sold over 160 VeloBlade digital cutters. As well as this, Vivid has added side-by-side dual production enhancement on its B1 VeloBlade Volta 1070+ model.
Vivid Laminating Technologies has now sold over 160 VeloBlade digital cutters
This particular machine can digitally die-cut sheets up to B1 and up to 10mm of cutting depth on a bed of 1000mm x 707mm. With this, users can work on a broad range of substrates including card, paper, labels, KT board, foam board, corrugated paper, and more.
With both sheet-fed and roll-fed feeding options and a vacuum suction bed and collection tray, companies can leave the machine to produce work whilst focusing attentions elsewhere.
“For our VeloBlade range, users can cut a whole range of substrates and also route a whole range of substrates,” says Lewis Evans, of Vivid. “This includes MDFs, dibond, aluminium, acrylic, and more, and all the cutting as well. So for your POS, you can choose pretty much any substrate, environmentally friendly, metal-based, wood-based, whatever you’d like, and have it finished on the VeloBlade really easily. Just send in the artwork for it.
“So it’s great for POS, exhibitions, signs, graphics, indoor and outdoor, fabric media, so many applications to choose from.”
In terms of some of the applications customers have used the VeloBlade range for recently, Evans says there’s a wide spectrum. “They’re producing real high-end work with acrylics, all the way to producing vinyl floor stickers for internal premises of hospitality, to exhibitions, counters, reception desks, even with a curved edge and really nicely finished. There’s a whole range of different materials, including for outdoor signage, indoor signage, and point-of-sale in shops for real high-end brands. There’s a real wide spectrum really.”
Robust and convertible
Another company that produces substrates used for POS is recycled paper honeycomb manufacturer, Dufaylite. The company is a supplier to the retail sector with its Ultra Board range of paper honeycomb boards for the print and display markets. Sold and distributed exclusively through Premier Paper, the Ultra Board range comprises of Ultra Board 3D for creative and structural applications, to Ultra Board Graphic for lightweight hanging signs.
Dufaylite offers Ultra Board 3D as the best material for creating POS displays such as this window display for Boden
One thing Ashley Moscrop, managing director of Dufaylite, notes is that any sign-maker using flatbed digital and cutting processes to produce signage will already be used to the key manufacturing process needed to print and convert boards. To produce POS, it’s just a case of a design file change.
“There is of course, a real opportunity for sign-makers to deliver more sustainable and longer lasting solutions. Ultra Board is not only made from recycled material, it is 100% recyclable making it easy to dispose of at the end of an in-store promotion, and with its added strength, will last longer in store than a traditional cardboard POS unit.”
With the need for POS to create a high impact and stand out to catch the attention of shoppers, another thing that makes Ultra Board a popular choice, according to Moscrop, is its strong properties and ability to be converted into a range of shapes and solutions.
Over at Very Displays, and the company provides exhibition and events, retail and POS, textile solutions and outdoor options from its 25,000sq ft warehouse in Leicestershire.
“We recognise that our trade display solutions are frequently used for point-of-sale and have purposely introduced many retail display solutions like LED SEG display signs, freestanding frames and hanging wire kits, as we see this sector as a large growth area,” explains Kirsty Corcoran, marketing manager of Very Displays.
Some of the benefits of POS noted by Corcoran include being a cost-effective marketing tool; an easy tool to communicate new products and information to customers; and a big contributor to cohesive branded shopping experiences.
“We always recommend any of our trade customers to take a moment to understand the different point-of-sale display products available and lean on the expert team at Very Displays for any queries,” she says, adding: “Understand our offering and it will enable you to say yes to more of your customers.”
Green solutions
The recent COP26 conference in Glasgow shed a light on the need for consumers and businesses to join together to reduce the impact we are having on the environment. Many companies have been offering their own advice on simple switches and launching sustainable solutions.
Brett Martin’s eco Foamalux options and Dufaylite’s Ultra Board, are just two examples of the many solutions on the market for sign-makers looking to offer environmentally friendly POS products.
Moscrop says: “I believe the main consideration for POS and sustainability is to limit the different material types within a unit. That way, it is far easier for the end user to recycle. If everything is paper-based, it’s easy for the end user to put the unit in a recycle scheme and receive money back for recycling cardboard and paper.
“If the unit consists of a range of materials, it becomes much harder for the end-user to separate and recycle, which ultimately will lead to lower recycling and more landfill. We all know about Recycle, but Re-use is also another important element to sustainability. Instead of continuously creating new units, thinking ahead and outside the box can help to create solutions that don’t have a short shelf life.”
Moscop adds: “Whilst typically marketing promotions tend not to last for a long period of time, with some clever thinking and design work, units could be designed and created to have interchangeable areas that can be exchanged for new graphics when a promotion ends or changes. That way both the retailer and the environment benefit from the longevity of use.”
Smith also notes that people are becoming increasingly sensitive to unnecessary use of materials and explains how it’s the responsibility of the retailers and hospitality industries to take responsibility and minimise their impact on the environment.
Another consideration raised by Corcoran, is that most of Very Display’s POS hardware can be used time and time again. This provides an environmentally friendly solution for repeat use. “A good example of this from our range is the Freestanding Magnetic frames,” she explains, adding: “The hardware is robust and stable meaning our trade customers only need to provide hardware and graphics to their customers on the first order, with the second order only needing graphic replacements for when new marketing promotions go live.”
Business as usual
With the pandemic hitting the retail and hospitality industries hard, Smith says the trends seen currently in the POS sector are very much the same as where the industry left off in March 2020. A new addition however, and a knock-on effect of the pandemic, is the need for POS solutions to be as cost-effective as possible.
O Factoid: According to ConnectPOS, the global POS system market is expected to reach $29.09bn (£21.86bn) by 2025 O
Digital POS is another area that is growing in size, however Smith notes that it has its limitations such as where it can be positioned in relation to power supplies and other mounted objects. You also can’t use a digital screen as a POS display stand for a product.
Smith adds: “Trends in retail, such as self-service tills, pop-up shops and pick up lockers all offer opportunities for POS. Shops often have three sets of queues – standard tills, self-service tills and self-scanning check outs. This presents three opportunities for POS displays, although so far self-service tills and self-scanning check out points are not being used to their full potential. There’s a big gap in the market for the most innovative signage companies to jump into.
“For pop-up shops, POS alone will not suffice – these shops also need signage to indicate their very existence and communicate to potential customers what they have to offer, whereas pick up lockers offer opportunities for online retailer advertising. For all retail and hospitality venues, Covid-19 protective screens offer another avenue for POS.”
With all this in mind, it is easy to see why POS is such an important factor in businesses’ efforts to drive sales and inform customers. With the drive to be greener in full swing, there are also plenty of opportunities for sign-makers to get involved in producing sustainable POS products.
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