A clip strip is a flat hanging point of sale (POS) display solution that allows products to be hung outside the traditional on-shelf position. They’re perfect for cross-merchandising items that would typically be shelved in different categories, like paper straws with drinks and herbs with meat/fish.
Effectively positioning products requires a deep understanding of your target customer. Here are some tips for getting started.
1. Hanging Shelf Strips
Retailers use shelf strips to display price, quantity, and other important product information on their shelves. They also draw attention to slow-moving products in a store by drawing shoppers’ eyes with eye-catching colors, fonts, and images. They are a great way to communicate special sales, coupons, and promotions to shoppers.
Another common form of a hanging point of sale (POS) display is the plastic clip strip, often called a dangler. These flat, hangable strips can be loaded with products in a warehouse and brought to the store, or they may be pre-loaded and stocked at the manufacturer’s facility. They’re ideal for displaying small items that don’t require full shelf space and can be easily positioned next to other products.
Merchandisers can also use a clip strip to promote cross-merchandising by grouping products that can be used together (e.g., paper straws with soft drink products or herbs alongside meat/fish). This marketing strategy can help boost impulse buying tendencies and increase basket sales for retailers.
A padded shelf talker is a great tool for communicating important details about a new product. This type of POS display is easy to read and focuses on only the most essential info, which helps to build trust in your brand and encourage customers to purchase. It’s a great alternative to a full-shelf display and is perfect for highlighting new products that aren’t yet part of the core assortment.
2. LED Strips
LED light strips are long circuit boards with a surface-mount device (SMD) light-emitting diodes that bring illumination into any space. They’re also known as ribbon lights or LED tape and come with an adhesive backing to make them easy to install.
There’s a variety of different light strip options out there, from bright and powerful to dim and low. Some even have motion-sensing technology, which can be a great way to enhance a home’s security. Many of these products are weatherproof, too, which makes them an ideal choice for outdoor spaces like stairways and gardens.
When choosing LED light strips, consider the color temperature you’re after. For instance, cool white light emits a more neutral and cleaner feel than warm white. Cool white has a higher CRI, too, which can help shoppers pick out colors that look their best.
If you want a more vibrant option, try Govee Smart Wi-Fi RGBW LED Strips, which feature alternating RGB and white LEDs. You can control them with an app to change colors, set effects, and adjust brightness levels.
Another great use for LED strip lighting is in the garage, where you can put them underneath cabinets to create a unique atmosphere that’s perfect for entertaining or working on projects. They can also be used to highlight a collection of items such as books, plants, and microfiber leather couches that you’re especially proud of.
3. Changeroom Lighting
Often known as display strips, hang strips, or merchandising strips, these stick retail displays are used for hanging merchandise. However, they can serve other purposes beyond their basic functionality.
One creative way to use them is by cross-merging items that complement each other. This type of merchandising encourages impulse buying and can grow your customer’s basket size. For example, if you’re a liquor store and your customers are buying bottles of wine as gifts, offering them a carry bag to go with their purchase makes sense.
This type of merchandising can also be used in conjunction with other in-store marketing and promotions, such as a “buy one get one free” offer on a new phone cover. Rather than a salesperson telling each customer of the promotion, you can put that information on a merchandising strip and direct them to the appropriate shelf to make their purchase.
Another use for merchandising strips is to showcase products that are popular, such as jeans from Old Navy or loose-leaf tea tins in a tea store. This creates a power wall that commands attention and draws a customer’s eye toward a particular area of the store.
If your gondola is overcrowded or you cannot accommodate a product with strong forecasted sales, using a clip strip allows you to maximize space for those items that deserve it the most. You can even add a strip for seasonal products that don’t require planogram or fixture changes, such as BBQ skewers in summer or tanning mitts in winter.
4. Under-Rack Lighting
Display strips are convenient for supplying more information about products for sale and also upgrading the appearance of store shelves. They’re used to advertise marketing designs and product barcodes on a shelf but can also be used to support CPG (consumer-packaged goods) such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, cosmetics, and cleaning products.
Merchandising strategies are all about creating a competitive edge, and positioning is one of the most effective tactics. People tend to focus more on items directly before them, and brightly lit displays inspire energy and action. Conversely, subdued lighting makes shoppers slow down and feel more relaxed.
Another great way to use shelf strips is glorifiers, which spotlight specific products. This visual merchandising technique is especially ideal for shoes, eyeglasses, and bottled products.
5. Floor Lighting
Merchandising is all about controlling where and how customers focus their attention. Adding lighting lower to the ground can draw their eyes to displays that would otherwise get lost in the shadows or might be competing with nearby displays under brighter lighting. Lighting can also influence moods and behaviors, like inspiring energy or helping people slow down and feel more relaxed.
Clip strips (long strips with hooks at regular intervals on which products can be hung) are ideal for advertising several small items without taking up too much shelf space. They can be placed near complementary products to encourage impulse buys. POS bins are another way to add additional product facings in key spots. Use them to cross-sell your products by merging items that pair well, such as razors and shaving cream or hand soap and shampoo.
Glorifiers are little platforms that elevate a single item in a display, a great visual merchandising tool for footwear, eyeglasses, or bottled products. They can be positioned on store shelves, countertop racks, or even on a separate table in the middle of retail space. Not all products need a glorifier, so determine which only among your offerings merits highlighting. You can also use endcaps to draw attention to particular items, especially if you’re selling CPGs such as food, beverages, or cosmetics.
6. Endcaps
Often overlooked as valuable store real estate, endcaps can actually be some of the most effective on-site sales tools a retail store has. When well-designed, they capture shoppers’ attention, encourage them to engage with the brand or products, and ultimately boost sales.
Featured items on an endcap receive more attention because they are not competing with other merchandise on the shelf. This can help win customers not planning to shop the category aisle. In fact, a 2019 study found that 21% of shoppers interacted with an end cap before moving down the category aisle.
An endcap is also a great place to promote seasonal sales. It can help build brand awareness and drive customer awareness of the sale before it officially begins. This can make a huge difference for brands that depend on consumer awareness to generate sales throughout the year.
Another way to drive more sales through an endcap is to cross-merchandise items that go together. For example, a display of gardening supplies can include plant food, soil, and containers. This helps to increase the perceived value of a product and can lead to impulse buys.