Attention product suppliers! Want some secrets to getting your product displays approved?  Then read on. After working with major retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Publix for more than 20 years, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.

One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen goes like this . . . 

After the enormous task of presenting a product and being awarded space in-store, suppliers are usually tasked with supporting their brand through display promotions when the “mod drops” (i.e., the product hits shelves). But, when it comes time to get approval, their display concept is turned down because it doesn’t adhere to the retailer’s guidelines (e.g., substrates, graphics, placement).

To avoid this kind of situation, follow these five tips to garner retailer’s approval of your product display program:

  1. Provide renderings and/or prototypes with details on size, substrates, hardware, and functionality that fit within the retailer’s guidelines.
  2. Demonstrate how and where your display program will fit in the store profile.
  3. Show how your display’s in-store experience connects to an online one.  For example, Include QR codes that lead to videos or websites to integrate digital with physical in-store and drive sales.
  4. Address how store personnel will interact with your display—from the dock to the store floor. Execution at the store level is imperative to the success of your display program.  Attention-getting labels, color-coded shippers, and detailed instruction letters can drastically increase the likelihood your display will be installed properly. How your display program is produced, fulfilled, kit-packed, delivered, and replenished affects your time to market.
  5. Provide details on how your team will execute flawlessly once the approval is granted. Referencing prior customer projects can help the retailer build confidence in your team’s abilities to deliver.

Remember, your job is to make the life of the store associate easier.

Whether you are on the product or store side of this scenario, your end goal is the same: increased sales.

If you need support to gain approval for your product display program, engage a partner that can help you get it done. And please remember, the right time to bring in a partner like InStore Design Display is before you present to the buyer. Faster time to market, successful store execution, and cost savings are more likely when you have experience and deep retailer relations on your side.

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