Today’s newest and most effective point-of purchase displays make it easier for truck accessory consumers to find what they need.

They can’t ring up a purchase or lock up at night or count receipts, but they are some of your most valuable employees – and you only have to hire them once.

Point-of-purchase displays, whether they’re special signs, 3-dimensional scale models of products, interactive displays or other marketing tools, can be invaluable retail “salesmen.” And Today’s P-O-Ps do more than ever to encourage consumers to make a purchase, says Stephen J. Alexander, vice president of HMG Worldwide, an in-store marketing consulting firm. “Good P-O-Ps help make shopping so much better for consumers: they help consumers find what they’re looking for in the store, they can answer the questions customers are most likely to have about the product and they educate the consumer about what he or she is buying,” Alexander says. Point-of purchase displays have been mainstays in traditional retail stores for years. But as truck accessory consumers have become more numerous and more sophisticated, truck accessory retailers have begun using P-O-Os more aggressively to move inventory off the shelves, he says.

Good P-O-Ps are invaluable to retailers because of all the work they do toward encouraging purchases. Above, a customer learns about the different kinds of hitches from a Draw-Tite P-O-P. The scaled-down Lund model P-O-Ps below show customers how products will look on their vehicles.

Doug Deeds, owner of truck trends, a Detroit truck accessories specialty store, says he is using more P-O-Ps to help his customers make informed purchases. The Draw-Tite hitch display in his store is a particularly effective P-O-P, he says.

“From the Draw-Tite hitch display, the customer can learn that there are different classes of hitch, and which class is appropriate for towing a certain size load; everything the customer needs to make a purchase decision is in those displays,” says Deeds.

Another display in Deed’s store shows customers the standard wire setups for towing lights. The P-O-P helps customers match the right wiring for their trucks and shows them diagrams of how to plug the connectors together. Displays like these work because “everything the customer would want to ask about the purchase is in those displays,” Deeds says.

Chief Auto Sees Newer Buyers

Good P-O-Ps answer the questions customers are most likely to have about the product,’ -Stephen J. Alexander, President, Automotive In-Store Marketing

For the past few years, three of the top 10 best-selling vehicles in the country have been trucks. And many of the consumers behind those new truck sales boom are buying a truck or SUV for the very first time, says Bill Pantuso, vice president of merchandising for Dallas-based Chief Auto Parts, which has 496 retail stores.

“We’re seeing the trend in two of our strong markets – California and Texas – where trucks now outsell cars”, Pantuso says.

First-time buyers need more help in accessorizing their vehicles, and P-O-Ps are very useful in educating consumers about products while they’re in the store, says Tom DeFelice, head designer for MCA, an Ohio-based merchandising design and consulting firm. P-O-Ps help make new truck owners aware of the many truck accessories available to personalize their vehicles, without requiring additional retail staff, Defelice says.

“It is desirable to provide personal attention to each new customer, but that just doesn’t happen/” DeFelice says. “P-O-Ps are a less expensive alternative; they can be a silent salesman that helps your customers make wise purchasing decisions.”

Lakeland, Fla-based Discount Auto Parts covers a 20-sq.-ft. truck accessories department without adding staff by getting the most mileage from its P-O-P displays. “We use brochures, flyers, and other promotional materials to help attract customer attention and explain the products,” said Kent Hatchett, buyer for the 223 store chain.

Interactive P-O-Ps Are Electronic Catalogs

Interactive displays are one kind of P-O-P that can even help truck owners who know something about trucks. Marketers use these displays for many different products, particularly add-on items such as bumpers, grille guards, and wheels.

An interactive display may feature a computer that collects data from the customer such as the relevant year, make and model of their vehicle. An example is the Philips Automotive Lighting Selector, a computer designed to provide quick and accurate lighting recommendations to consumers at the point of sale.

The device, which is attached to the edge of a shelf in front of the light bulb merchandise, recommends lighting based on vehicle description the customer keys into the computer. The computer gives out a purchase recommendation that is specific to the vehicle’s lighting needs. The unit actually acts like a catalog; but electronically and, more importantly, at the point of sale. “It’s exciting having an interactive display in the store,” explained John Seal, a buyer for Western Auto. “The unit allows our customers to make a smart purchasing decision and walk out with the merchandise they came into the store to get.”

Western Auto buyer John Seal says the Philips Automotive lighting Selector P-O-P, which helps customers match lights with their vehicles, allows customers to make smart purchasing decisions. The Philips Lighting Selector is in 400 Western Auto stores nationwide.

“It enhances the shopping experience if the customer can touch something and make something happen,” said Alexander, whose HMG Worldwide developed the Philips display.

The Philips Automotive Lighting Selector is in nearly 400 Western Auto stores nationwide. The display won the first ever Advertising Age magazine award in the point-of-purchase category.

Models Let Customers See Purchases Another type of interactive display is the miniaturized working model of a vehicle or vehicle section, something that would be too large to put inside a store. One example is an Aerocover display designed by MCA.

‘Customers can play with model P-O-Ps and see how everything works,’ - Tom DeFelice, head marketing designer, MCA

“We designed a 24” X 12” X 18” display featuring a plastic scale model of a pickup with the cover in place,” says DeFelice. The hinges and locks on the model work and the panels open and close. “Customers can play with the model and see how everything works.”

Model P-O-Ps also show customers how an accessory will look. One company, Minneapolis-based Lund Industries, makes 10” plastic models of trucks fitted with every accessory the company makes for that type of truck.

Lund says model P-O-Ps work particularly well for the truck novices in the market. “People who have seen something they like on another truck, but don’t know what its called or how to describe it to a salesman can learn about it from our miniature truck display,” says Mike Roth, Lund’s marketing manager.

“Many people fall in love with the total look immediately upon seeing it,” says Roth. “They wouldn’t know what individual accessories make up the look, or how to shop for them on their own. They’ll order the complete package from one store because it’s simpler and quicker that way.”

Model P-O-P displays can also help overcome price resistance. “The customer will want to know how a more expensive item works differently than the less expensive version. A working model lets him see the differences and sell himself on it,” says Deeds.

‘We’re seeing the [first-time buyer] trend,’ says Bill Pantuso, vice president, Chief Auto Parts. First-time buyers need more help accessorizing.

Good P-O-P merchandising can present all of the product’s benefits in a way that is appealing an easily digested by even the most novice truck owners.

Many retailers say they don’t have to use expensive display materials. “Some of the most effective displays are simple variations on a cut case with a header card,” said Rex Davenport, editor of P-O-P Times, the trade journal for the point-of-purchase merchandising industry.

But you do have to match your displays to the upscale customers you want to win.

“You can’t get away with the old wire rack and header card for the upscale customer,” said DeFelice. “He has a top-of-the-line vehicle, and just came from the new car showroom where he saw sophisticated displays.”

“Vendors are getting better at supplying P-O-Ps that help educate and sell, and at the same time fit the retailer’s desired store image,” said Ken Wittekiend, marketing manager at Houston, Texas-based Hi-Lo Auto Supply.

Wittekiend predicts that merchandising firms and retailers will in the future develop P-O-P systems in a partnership atmosphere.

“Good P-O-P materials invite consumers to take a look at our products,” said Todd Rader, manager of marketing communications for hitch manufacturer Draw-Tite. “Today’s consumers are more willing to serve themselves,” Rader says. “Now that firms design truck accessory P-O-P displays to help consumers serve themselves at the point-of-sale, yes, we are becoming more like a supermarket.”

‘Today’s consumers are willing to serve themselves. We are becoming more like a supermarket,’ - Todd Rader, marketing manager, Draw-Tite

Avoiding Points of Non-Purchase

Despite the proven results of P-O-Ps in selling truck accessories, consumers are more likely to find the products they’re looking for on a back shelf without a sign than in a colorful interactive display designed specifically for the product.

Stephen J. Alexander, an automotive marketing consultant, says that too many retail chains have been slow to realize the sales potential in even the simplest in-store marketing.

Truck accessories are often stocked along with the car specific products or relegated to their own poorly designated department at the back of the store, Alexander says. There’s rarely anything to help or educate consumers about their purchase, nor even a sign to help tell them exactly what they’re buying, he says.

Serious in-store merchandising is something that’s still catching on, but as truck accessory consumers become more and more sophisticated, they’re going to expect retailers to help them along in their purchases, Alexander says. And in a competitive market, the retailers that recognize and meet those needs first will be the ones that enjoy the new business, he says.

Stephen J. Alexander is an aftermarket consultant, speaker and author for the Automotive Aftermarket. To learn more about other in-store merchandising and marketing issues, contact Stephen Alexander, Automotive In-Store Marketing at 239-395-9203 or e-mail him at salexander@autoinstore.com.