The POS from the Shopper’s Point of View

©STI-Group

Where do shoppers look first in a store? How does this impact the development of successful secondary placement at the POS? These questions will be addressed by the STI Group at this year’s EuroShop held in Düsseldorf from 26 February to 2 March 2011.

EOne of the core questions for the development of fast-moving – and hence successful – secondary product placements is consumers’ eye movement in retail establishments. As part of the international POPAI Community (Point of Purchase Advertising International) the STI Group will be presenting creative PoS solutions at the Düsseldorf EuroShop, The Global Retail Fair, that turn shoppers into buyers. In focus – various display solutions: attention-grabbing experience placements, high-quality long-term display fixtures and shop-in-shop concepts.

Eye Tracking

The buzzword here is eye tracking. At the trade fair stand of the STI Group interested parties can have a try right away and be “accompanied” on their tour of a supermarket. This allows us to see the (retail) world through shoppers’ eyes in the truest sense of the word. At the end of the event trade fair visitors will receive an evaluation of their own eye movements in digital format.

“With the use of eye tracking we want to provide our customers with shopper insights and how such insights translate into the design of sales promotion tools,” explains Norman Thom, General Manager of STI POS Solutions GmbH.

El Signs

Another highlight presented by the company is a new thin, lightweight multi-layer film: El Sign. It converts electrical energy into light without generating heat. The advertising messages illuminated and animated in this way are said to have a strong impact on shoppers’ impulse buying. Printing can be 4-colour and the film formats range from label to bill board size. All you need for this individually programmable light animation is a battery or mains supply.

“First appearances do not stand a second chance,” says Prof. Dr. Frank Ohle, Chairman of the Board at STI Group. “An attention-grabbing look is needed to prompt shoppers to buy,” he says and mentions the cooperation with Synergetic Media, a strategic partner with branch offices in the USA, Canada and China.

By company accounts studies in the USA show that retail sales were up almost 90% thanks to the use of El Signs on displays against a 39% sales increase when using static, conventional displays. Furthermore, the study proved that store managers generally placed 88% of illuminated and moving displays in the principal promotion zones of the store while half the conventional displays were placed in less attractive PoS locations.

A case in point being the successful use of this technology for staging the trendy beverage “Hpnotiq”. Revolving stripes on an animated luminous poster attract high attention here. When power supply is switched off the upper part of the poster remains white and the product is at the centre of the presentation.

Furthermore, the STI Group will use the Open Forum at Euro Shop to deliver various talks on international trends at the PoS focusing on such issues as “From Point of Sale to Point of Communication: Move People to Buy More” and “How to Win the First Moment of Truth? The Impact of POS Solutions”.

Registering over 1,900 exhibitors from 52 countries and 106,000 m² net exhibition space, this year’s EuroShop expects more than 100,000 trade visitors from the global retail scene to visit the 15 exhibition halls over the five days of the fair. EuroShop is open from 26 February to 2 March 2011, from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm daily. The STI Group is exhibiting at the POPAI Global Village in Hall 5, Stand D04.