Many Store Displays Going Senior Friendly

Retailers are looking at the long-term figures and taking notice. People have been aware for years that the baby-boom generation is approaching retirement age, but no one thought of the myriad affects it would have on the retail environment.

With an aging population comes a whole new segment of the market with huge buying power. According to an article released by NPR.org, "Within the next decade the number of people older than 65 is set to jump almost 30 percent." This has led many store designers and owners to rethink the way they market and sell. It's likely that, in the coming years, the market will see an increasing number of approaches and products geared more towards the senior crowd.


This isn't much of a shock. The market will always try and find ways to sell products to consumers but it's going to change more than just what's being produced. It's likely to alter the very style and function of many stores across the country. As many business valuations have shown, seniors require special consideration. For example, retailers have long employed shiny floors as a way to brighten up a store. However, some studies have show that older individuals find them disconcerting since it's often unclear if there's a spill or slick footing. Designers are already looking and ways in which they'll be called to accommodate the millions of shoppers that will be frequenting their stores in the coming decades.

The drugstore chain, CVS, has already begun to alter the look of many of their locations in order to stay ahead of the curve. They've lowered the counters and have put carpeting in many of their stores. Walgreens has also put in magnifiers on most shelves so shoppers will be able to read the print on labels and packaging. This is an obvious switch for drugstores given that a large portion of their clientele are elderly but we're probably going to see these same changes made in stores across the country in a few years time.

Though simple things like electronic doors have already begun to replace normal doors, they're not everywhere. We'll probably see these go up in every merchant shop everywhere but even things like displays are going to see big changes. Ads will likely begin using larger print and muted colors. It's going to be interesting to see the changes that occur as our market retools itself to appeal to a section of the market that has been, until now, largely ignored. Who knows what changes are going to happen in the coming years.

Why Use a Pop-Up Banner Stand In a Shop Window?

Anyone owning a shop knows that a beautiful display in your window is key to enticing passersby to frequent your shop. There are several options available to attract potential customers, such as window clings or tables against the window displaying wares, but many shop owners have found a new and beneficial way to brighten up the front of their shop: pop up banner stands.

A pop up banner stand is a solid stand, usually metal and plastic, that contains a rolled up banner inside. Simply pull up the retractable banner and lock it into place, and you have a large and colourful way to reach potential clientele. Other pop up banner stands are simply a sturdy, yet lightweight stand that holds a large banner for all to see. The actual banners are often made from a sturdy fabric.

A pop up banner stand in you store window is beneficial for a number of reasons, including:

• Portability - Banner stands are lightweight and easy to move, which makes it a breeze to set up or relocate your banner to wherever it is needed. On nice days you can place your banner outside your door to make sure every person walking or driving by sees what kind of a business you run, and if you do have any items displayed in the window, a pop up banner can serve as a beautiful and colourful accent to those items.

• Customization - Most banner companies will be able to provide printing services for your banner to ensure that you get exactly what images and words you want on your display. Some companies offer double sided banners, meaning you can have a display on each side to get the maximum amount of advertising out of your space.

• Easy Storage - If you aren't using your banner at the moment, the small and lightweight stand is easy to stow away and the lightweight fabric of the banner can be rolled up and packed away just as easily.

• Low Cost - Due partly to the fact that the stands are made from simple materials, having a customized pop up banner display made won't create a huge drain on your bank account, making it one of the most affordable ways to add a bit of colour to your storefront.

• Great Visibility - Pop up banner displays can be several feet in length, providing a large display that will be impossible for anyone passing by your shop to miss.

• Easy Set-Up - Window clings can be a chore to get just right and tables filled with stock are bulky and hard to manoeuvre. A pop up banner stand sets up quickly, giving you time to get back to running your business.

Pop up banner stands are an economical, easy and cost efficient way to bring people into your store, and any store owner looking for display solutions should look into purchasing pop up banner stands for their own business.

Boosting Your Bottom Line with Effective POS Displays

In competitive retail environments, great “Point of Sale” displays can be the critical element that converts curious shopper into a serious customer. With that in mind, lets go through some tips for great POS displays.

As customers flow through your store browsing the products on display, they are searching for one of two things: More information on the products on display, or a great bargain. “Point of Sale” displays are the ideal tool for both of these goals. By providing prices and a sales pitch to the consumer, they convert window shoppers into paying customers at a higher rate than any other type of retail display or signage.



It all sound simple right? Well the principal is, but when it comes to choosing your POS display of choice, things start to get a little more complicated with the huge range of displays available. Will you opt for table talkers, suspended signage, floor graphics, free standing signs, a modular system, clip frames, pull up banners, shelf decals or a light box?




That’s where the professionals come in. Despite being a considerable capital investment, often the best choice is to hire a retail display consultant. Alternatively you might want to call upon your own experience in devising a display strategy for your shop. In this case there are many online suppliers of POS Displays and products to choose from.



Whatever course of action suits your business, the one thing you can be sure of is that some action is better than none. Point of Sale display is a “trial and error” pursuit, so even if your initial efforts are not successful, you should see this not as a failure, but one step on the road to success!

So good luck… and happy Point of Sales!

Free Symbols and Arrows Download

The chances are if you're involved with the design side of retail display (that is the graphic design side) at some time or another you will have come across the need for some stock symbols or pictograms, or maybe a particular style of arrow that has be embeded in your mind.

Well, I don't have the time to design these types of sign and graphic elements myself and I suspect that neither do the majority of designers who are involved in developing retail graphics. That's why when I come across a valuable resource that's made my life easier, I feel compelled to share said resource.

So take a look at these:

These symbols are available as a typeface and what's more they're free! Download 'em here: Free Sign Symbols.

So... do you ever feel the need to tell someone where to go?

Then you can download these free arrow symbols from the Signs & Symbols blog, which has a nice collection of various vector symbol and pictograms to download... along with some mildly amusing commentary.

Enjoy and use wisely!

Retractable Queue Barriers

Some of the larger retailers around use retractable barriers as a means of keeping queues at their cash registers in order. It's a problem that all retailers would probably like to have - so many people queueing up to buy that a means of ordering the customer line up is required. But such barriers can also be of use if you have limited space around the register area and that area becoming blocked if shoppers queue in the wrong position. Here barrier posts can be used to ensure your customers wait to be served in the most efficient area.

One bonus of using such queue poles, is that most of these units have the facility to attach a sign holder to the top of the pole. You commonly see the sign holders displaying simple messages such as this:

Would you class that as an effective use of such a sign holder? I wouldn't. Sure it's informative and your customers may need a little bit of direction to have them stand in the correct location, but I would definitely add some branding to sign like this and, even better, incorporate some promotion material into your basic ol' "queue here" message. While customers are standing inline you might as well tell them why your business is so great, or alert them to a special offer that is currently running or try to "up-sell them". Why not?

So treat your queue barrier posts like any of your other display stands and ask yourself.... "How can I make the most of my investment in this product?" What ever your answer is, I guarantee it will be something more that the standard "Queue Here".

Suggestion and Donation Boxes

They may not be the first product you think of when you're thinking of adding to your suite of display fixtures, but a suggestion box can be a great way to start a conversation with your customers. People are more likely to give candid and truthful feedback when they can put it down anonymously on a piece of paper, so they are a reliable means of getting customers thoughts on your products, service and staff. Let's face it, if people are encountering a major roadblock in the buy process, you need to know about it!

As an added bonus, when people do leave you a suggestion or comment, you can also use the form that they fill out to collect some customer infomation that you can then use to respond to their ideas or complaints and thus begin a conversation that may become a valueable long term asset. An example of this is that if a customer has made a complaint, you could in turn offer them an exclusive discount, that may make up for their grievances, but more importantly, may get them back into your store when otherwise they might have been lost.

And for when it comes to employing a donation box, this works more as a positive branding excersise, which of course also has the primary function of helping out your charity of choice - it's a win-win!

Media Backdrop Banners Are Here

Have you ever found yourself dreaming, that rather than having to spend all that time putting together elaborate shop window displays, you could get your hands on a huge banner stand that you could simply place in your shop window and let the graphics do the talking?

OK, so you probably haven't, but now that I've brought it up, what do you think? If sounds like your cup of tea, you might be keen to know that pull up banners as large as 2.4 x 2 meters are available!

Usually they are refered to as Media Backdrops, as they are commonly used as a backdrop to press conferences as well as sometimes as a backdrop display for television interviews with sports men and women.

Large banner stands like these are are also used at trade shows and exhibitions, where they excel due to the fact that they are so easy to mover around - the large banner retracts into the banner dispays base, the whole unit is packed up in its carry bag for transport.

Anyway there's no need to dream - it's a reality. Media backdrops are here and they're just begging to be used as retail displays... so go for it!