Maximizing Impact: A Complete Guide to Retail Displays
Retail displays are more than just shelving — they’re a powerful tool to attract attention, tell your brand story, and drive sales. From eye-catching window displays to interactive in-store setups, the right display can make your products irresistible to shoppers. This guide explores how to design, place, and optimize retail displays for maximum impact.
In this article we discuss:
- The Purpose of Retail Displays
- Key Types of Retail Displays
- Design Principles for Effective Retail Displays
- Retail Display Placement and Shopper Psychology
- Prototyping and Optimizing Your Retail Display
- Measuring Success & ROI in Retail Marketing
- Common Mistakes to Avoid with Retail Displays
The Purpose of Retail Displays
Since products have first been placed on shelves, their arrangement and appearance have been used to entice customers. Today’s retail displays can include elaborate technology, over-the-top designs, or just a carefully presented product. Regardless of their form, retail displays share some common goals. They all aim to:
Draw attention and create memorable brand experiences.
First of all, retail displays need to catch a customer’s attention, and keep it. According to the Marketing Innovation Resources blog from Northwestern University, a brand experience encompasses “everything a customer feels and thinks when interacting with a brand.” The importance of these experiences in driving sales is well documented. A PWC survey found that 73% of shoppers say experience is a key factor in their decision to purchase something, while, 65% said a positive experience influences them even more than marketing. According to EventTrack, 91% of consumers report brand experiences created positive feelings about brands, and 85% are more likely to purchase as a result.
Influence shopper behavior and drive impulse purchases.
As noted above, a powerful brand experience directly influences purchase decisions. Impulse purchases are those most likely to be affected by in-store experiences. According to CNBC, consumers spend an average of $151 a month on impulse purchases. What drives these decisions? Emotional responses, enticing deals and external pressure. While retail displays can’t necessarily create external pressure, they can certainly evoke emotions and promote discounted pricing.
Reinforce brand identity.
Beyond just a logo and color palette, brand identity “refers to the unique characteristics that influence a brand’s perceived personality, appearance, and behavior,” explains The Branding Journal. “A brand’s identity encompasses tangible and intangible elements,” they continue, “including its history, name, personality, and visual identity.” So retail displays offer a space to express your brand’s unique personality and complement existing marketing efforts.
Key Types of Retail Displays
The types of retail displays available are as varied as the locations in which they’re placed, the products they’re designed to sell, and the marketing goals they are trying to achieve. Most displays fall into a few main categories.
Point-of-Purchase (POP) Displays
Located right where the consumer is most likely to buy, point-of-purchase displays have a unique opportunity to connect and convert. From design to display type to budget, each decision could make or break this marketing opportunity. Explore our article on 5 Things to Consider When Building Your POP Displays and our comprehensive guide to creating Point-of-Purchase Displays that Convert for insider insight into how to maximize this display’s potential.
Endcaps and Shelf Displays
End caps, or displays at the end of an aisle, utilize prime real estate to create visual impact. With more room to feature a new product, tell a brand story or highlight value pricing, cost-effective end caps can expand on messaging elsewhere in the store without intruding on or interrupting the shopping experience. Shelf displays must rely on placement, visuals and concise copy to provide information or messaging beyond what’s on the product packaging or label. Both types of retail displays encourage impulse buying by placing promotional marketing directly next to the products themselves.
Window Displays
Responsible for the term “window shopping,” window displays allow customers to see into a retail environment and entice them to come inside. Some of the most common types of window displays include:
- Open-back window display: Lacking separation between store and display, these highlight the store’s interior design while showcasing products.
- Closed-back window display: By closing off the view inside, closed window displays draw more attention to the products on display and provide a blank canvas to tell a brand story.
- Shadowboxes: These small, box-like displays are often used to feature little items with a big price tag, like watches or jewelry. By only allowing a few people to see at once, they draw customers closer.
- Corner window display: Where two windows meet, the display possibilities multiply. Attracting shoppers approaching from any direction, corner windows provide more viewing options and more square footage for themes, multiple products, and more elaborate designs.
- Interactive or Digital Displays: Digital displays benefit from their ability to change or display multiple images and messages over time. Interactive displays, which include QR codes, screens, or motion sensors for tech-enhanced engagement also offer customers the opportunity to directly interact with the installment, eliciting more information or customizing the experience. According to digital display software provider Screencloud, common uses include self-checkout kiosks, digital wayfinding and video walls.
Design Principles for Effective Displays
Design for retail display requires a clear understanding of graphic design principals and a deep familiarity with the retail environment. Where the shopper is in the store, in their shopping process and even in their own head can greatly impact their interpretation of your visual choices.
Visual hierarchy: Making the product the star
As we describe in our guide to counter display design, to communicate a clear hierarchy of messaging , express your brand attributes concisely and at the top of the available space. “Make sure the shopper’s eye lands where you want” we explain in our primer on POP displays, “usually on the product name, benefit, or offer first.”
Color, lighting, and typography: Tools of the trade
- Color within the lines: Color can be a balancing act. We recommend using brand colors but also making sure the display stands out from the surrounding shelf space. Remember that colors can communicate specific cues: yellow and red create a sense of urgency among shoppers, blue suggests security, and green inspires the calm of nature. Black is typically associated with luxury and prestige.
- Light the way: Illumination is typically one of the last things retailers consider, leading to poorly lit signage. As a general rule, lighting for in-store signs should be double or triple that of the store’s ambient light level.
- Make your signage letter-perfect: You can use fonts strategically to communicate a brand’s personality, create a specific atmosphere, and guide customers. Keep in mind legibility (especially from a distance), brand consistency, hierarchy of information, and using fonts that evoke a desired tone. Choosing the right typeface and using it consistently with high contrast, appropriate size, and clear spacing can help effectively communicate your message, and your brand.
- Minimalism vs. storytelling: Matching the brand voice
Demonstrating brand personality is a great idea, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of shopper comprehension. We recommend a balance between Remember, shoppers need to be able to understand a sign in mere seconds.
💡 Pro Tip: Keep It Simple: Avoid clutter. A clean, focused display highlights your product and messaging, making it easier for shoppers to understand and act on.
Placement & Shopper Psychology
Shoppers will react differently to your display depending on its placement. Retail signage plays a vital role in business success, yet many owners underestimate its power. According to Commercial Construction and Renovation Magazine, “research shows that 76% of consumers have walked into unfamiliar stores just because of attractive signs.” The science of tracking how shoppers move through the store and how this knowledge can affect your ROI contains key insights for any retail marketer.
Traffic laws: High-traffic zones and the “power wall”
What is a power wall? According to the School of Marketing at Johnson & Wales University, “It’s your first and best opportunity to capture shopper attention and draw them further into your store.” They explain that “in North America, the vast majority (up to 90%) of retail shoppers automatically turn to the right after walking into a store. That makes the front right wall of your store a prime location to hook customers and why most store layouts feature a power wall to the right of the entrance.” Harnessing power walls and other high-traffic areas requires strategy and creativity. As Shopify notes, “more than a simple wall display, a power wall helps draw customers in and channel their attention toward the items you want them to buy.”
Seeing eye-to-eye: Eye-level strategy
With display design, just like in real estate, location is key. As we explain in our guide to in-store signage, regardless of where the shopper is in the store, their primary field of vision is generally 45 degrees up or down from eye level to a distance of about five feet. Therefore, shelf signage placed less than two feet from the floor can be difficult, if not impossible, to read. Keep your product, USP and other important info within eye-level to ensure maximum impact.
All the right moves: How shoppers move through stores and respond to displays
As retail layout designers Perillo Construction explain, “the layout of a retail store can guide a customer’s journey from the entrance to checkout. Strategic layouts encourage exploration, reduce friction, and ensure that high-margin products are noticed.” Follow these guidelines to influence shopper behavior:
- Reduce cognitive load: Clear signage for wayfinding helps customers find products easily, improving satisfaction and loyalty.
- Direct the path: Strategic store layouts and displays can guide customers to desired areas, like placing high-demand items at the back to increase exposure to other products along the way.
- Prime the shopper: Subtle cues, like signs for “healthy recipes” near produce, can prime customers to think about a certain theme, influencing their decisions without direct promotion.
💡 Pro Tip: Eye-Level Matters: Products placed at eye level get the most attention. When designing your display, think about the height of your target audience to maximize visibility and engagement.
Prototyping and Optimizing Your Retail Display
Before rolling out a full-scale retail display, creating a prototype can save time, money, and headaches. A prototype lets you see the design in 3D, test how shoppers interact with it, and fine-tune branding, messaging, and functionality. It also helps catch practical issues like assembly difficulties or durability concerns early on. By prototyping, your team can collaborate more effectively, ensuring the final display not only looks great but also drives engagement and sales.
💡 Pro Tip: Before committing to full production, place your prototype in a store or mock setup. Observe how shoppers interact with it—sometimes a small tweak in height, color, or placement can dramatically increase engagement and sales.
Measuring Success & ROI
In order for a marketing program to succeed, you must be able to measure its success. At its most basic, Return on Investment (ROI)can be calculated with the equation:
(Revenue from Marketing — Marketing Cost) / Marketing Cost x 100 = ROI (%)
But tracking multiple metrics can provide a more nuanced picture.
Key marketing metrics
In our article about effective POP displays, we recommend retail marketers track performance through:
- Sales lift: Compare pre- and post-installation numbers.
- Foot traffic/dwell time: Use store sensors or observations.
- Engagement: For interactive displays, track scan rates or interactions.
- Retailer feedback: Don’t underestimate the insights store staff can offer about shopper reactions and setup challenges.
Understanding cost vs. impact
According to Oracle, ROI serves multiple functions for the retail marketer. The metric:
- Measures profitability: It shows whether a campaign made money or lost money.
- Evaluates effectiveness: It helps evaluate which marketing activities are most effective and should receive more investment.
- Guides future strategy: By comparing ROI across different channels, marketers can optimize their spending and budget allocation for future campaigns.
💡 Pro Tip 3: Test Before You Launch: Test multiple versions of your display if possible (e.g., A/B testing designs or locations) and use insights to refine future executions. Use A/B testing with two different display setups in similar store locations. Real-world data on shopper interaction can guide final design decisions and boost ROI.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
In more than 60 years creating retail displays, Medallion Retail has seen every mistake possible. Here we impart our wisdom to help you avoid common pitfalls:
- Overcrowding displays: We get it. You have a lot to say about your product. And you want to make sure customers can see every relevant benefit and specification. But in retail marketing, less is more. A few key messages and images can more clearly convey your case than a mishmash of pictures and bullet points.
- Ignoring the brand story: The pull of seasonality, the latest trend, or a new product can sometimes threaten to hijack a whole display, but don’t cater to these elements at the cost of clearly communicating what’s special about your brand. Each piece of your marketing mix should complement the others, creating a comprehensive brandscape that reinforces your message.
- Poor maintenance or outdated visuals: In retail display, shabby is never chic. Once a display shows wear-and-tear it telegraphs a brand that is careless, or worse, uncool. That’s why understanding the right type of display for every environment is key. Will customers be interacting with it? Is it in a high-traffic area? Does it make for sense to get one heavy-duty design, or cycle through several temporary options?
Partnering for Success
Thoughtful retail display strategy can transform a shopper’s experience, drive sales, and strengthen your brand presence. Prototyping, testing, and observing real-world engagement ensures your displays are as effective as possible—turning every corner of your store into a high-impact marketing opportunity. With our expertise in strategy, design, production, prototyping and fulfillment, Medallion Retail is the perfect partner to ensure your success. Contact us today to get started transforming your in-store experience.
