The history of P.O.P.

Point of purchase advertising goes back as long as humans have been selling things to each other. The market stall, the peddlar, the hawker - all have needed to display their products to customers over the centuries. The picture (left) shows a display of horse shoes from the early 20th century.

Shops were well established in the major European cities by the twelth century. Trade in bazaars and shops was important and early retailers just like today's retailers, needed to display the goods on offer. Naturally in an age before mass production, there were few consumer goods to promote. However, foods, clothing, footwear, furniture and cooking utensils were the essentials of life and for those who could afford them, goods to be bought in shops.

Retailing developed in particular in the nineteenth century as the industrial revolution made a wider variety of goods available and provided the economic wealth to enable some people at least to purchase them. Signs, posters, and means of displaying products grew but were largely hand made to serve individual retailers. The age of the chain store was only just beginning.

Some of the earliest POP displays were intended for what we would today call brand identity. The traditional barber's striped pole is one example, as is the set of pawnbroker's golden balls. Sometimes model figures would be placed outside a shop to attract attention. Before World War II competition in many areas of business was not as fierce as it is today and the retailer's needs were met by simple storage facilities for the product.

The celebrated retailer F.W. Woolworth and Co was a pioneer in the 20th Century. Founded in the UK as a subsidiary of an American parent company, the store introduced new retailing techniques on both sides of the Atlantic. Large scale purchasing, mass production, and modest prices were a key part of the formula but they also developed the idea of browsing before buying and set out goods for sale in a layout that enabled the customer to view touch and select items for himself. Large counters and vertical shelf units were used to maximise the display of goods and make them accessible. Woolworths used simple POP displays such as stands on which jewelery could be shown off, and by the 1950s there were display cabinets for some goods such as cosmetics. Even in the 1950s however the emphasis was on storage and presentation of goods - which would not have been recognised as a form of advertising. Combining storage, display and advertising into POP displays came later.

Whilst retailing developed in the twentieth century it was only in the second half of that 100 years of dramatic change that self selection retailing began to develop on a large scale. Department stores go back to the nineteenth century but it was only in the second half of the 20th century that western countries saw the growth of supermarkets.

Modern Era of P.O.P.

Since 1950 there have been huge changes in retailing as in so many aspects of the world in which we live. In particular, the change from staffed counters to self-service selection opened the field for point of purchase merchandising. If customers are free to wander around a large store at will, something extra is needed to arrest their attention. In a small shop space is limited and personal advice is likely to be more important than attention grabbing displays.

As retailing developed after World War II retailers began to look for ways to make better use of the available floor space and to make stores more spacious and comfortable for customers. At the same time, advances in printing technology meant that a wider range of materials could be commercially screen printed with more attractive designs including pictures. The ability to manufacture attractive, eye-catching display stands that not only held stock but also presented it alluringly co-incided with the self-service retail revolution.

Modern POP displays were not invented overnight but developed gradually in the 1950's and 1960s. Short term promotional material had long existed in various forms. In respect of permanent POP advertising, initially, counter-top units enhanced the appearance and capacity of counters. Free standing floor displays were a natural development from this as the concept of self-service began to take hold. Yardley and Max Factor were major brands whose owners took early advantage of the opportunities presented by POP to produce vertical display stands.

Economic trends of increasing competition, more international trade, and growing consumer affluence all played a part in the development of POP advertising. In the days when consumers had little spare cash and could not indulge in discretionary spending, there was less point to POP.

So consumer affluence, technological progress, changes in retail design, and increasing competition came together as the factors that led to today's POP advertising industry. The "Charlie" unit illustrated was the first to be manufactured by Dauman Displays in the UK, in 1977.

There continue to be changes in retailing in the UK and world-wide. The growth of major retail chains at the expense of independent retailers is well known. Major retail chains create and maintain their own distinctive interior design styles and often POP advertising provided by a brand owner is not always welcome if it does not fit in with the retailer's corporate image. This has meant change for POP advertising manufacturers whose products now often need to conform to a pre-determined corporate design.

Future trends in POP advertising include more use of digital screens to offer moving images, more use of remote control techniques, and more interaction with the consumer.