Consumer confidence, or rather a lack of it, and the squeeze on household income and spending power are among the contributory factors. And it’s clear that people are increasingly canny about how they carry out what shopping they are doing, with the surge in internet shopping and use of the web as a tool for price comparisons making the retail environment even tougher for many store owners.

That said, it’s not all doom and gloom and some retailers continue to report strong growth in sales and profits. And the competitive environment means achieving a retail environment look and feel that’s just right is becoming more important than ever. A recent study by Deloitte looked at the role of physical stores in the light of the multichannel marketplace, and stated: "Changes in consumer behaviour are forcing retailers to assess the future role of their store portfolio and how the in-store product and services offer forms part of a co-ordinated multichannel strategy."

Changing needs
Deloitte has identified a trend whereby some retailers are using part of their retail space as showrooms or display areas for additional ranges that are available online. "As a higher proportion of sales are driven online and connected consumers take advantage of technology to shop around, the traditional ‘sales-per-square-foot’ metric may provide an inaccurate view of the true contribution of the store to the retailer’s revenue," states Richard Hyman, strategic retail advisor to Deloitte.

From a printing industry perspective, shifts of this nature will result in changes to the sort of in-store print that retailers require, too.

Phil Day, director at retail marketing industry association POPAI, says:  "It has taken some time but the best point-of-purchase (POP) printers have stopped thinking about print as a commodity and more as a bona fide marketing tool, capable of competing with above-the-line media. It is not unusual these days to see POP printers offering much more than ink on board with many more value-added services and diverse, sophisticated manufacturing techniques being employed to make POP more effective than it has ever been."

Witness the recent refit of Adidas’ flagship store on London’s Oxford Street, carried out by McKenzie Clark. A plethora of print techniques was used to achieve the desired look, including fabric graphics, printed vinyl, lenticular graphics and 3D display boxes and wall lettering.

Distinct from destination retail outlets such as this are the major multiples, and the upcoming back-to-back bank holiday weekends will see vast numbers of shoppers heading to home improvement specialists and garden centres as the seasonal urge to spruce up the home takes hold among consumers. PrintWeek spoke to the country’s two biggest exponents about their POP requirements.

B&Q
B&Q is the largest retailer of its type in Europe, with 330 branches in the UK and Ireland. Its retail sales last year were £3.9bn. Dan Smith, print and procurement manager, provides a point-of-purchase (POP) viewpoint.  

How are your point-of-sale requirements changing?
We have moved to store-collated packs to make it easier for our store colleagues to erect, reducing set-up times and eliminating waste
 
What do you require in the way of new or different services from your print suppliers?
What we require is for our approved suppliers to continuously present new technologies in printing effects and better performing materials to drive down cost
 
What have you found to be good or bad in your recent dealings with printers?
We regularly review our approved suppliers, all of which are evolving their businesses to meet our continual demands. Like our suppliers, we are in this for the long term and appreciate their investment in new technology
 
How can printers improve their offering?
By helping us to increase speed to market, to drive down costs and by helping us to measure the effectiveness of our campaigns
 
Are there any POP innovations you are looking to explore?
We are always looking to improve the customer experience within our stores, to ensure that ease of store execution and compliance is maintained
 
Any favourite print techniques you particularly like the results of?
From a buyer’s point of view, we enjoy the benefits of all techniques allowing us to produce effective POP
 
What are the main pressures on you as a buyer? For example, price, in-store compliance, timeliness of campaigns, environmental issues, ease of execution.
All of the above and more!

HOMEBASE
The £6bn turnover Home Retail Group comprises of Homebase and sister company Argos. Its Homebase business has 349 stores in the UK and with sales of circa £1.56bn is the second-biggest retailer in the home improvement space. Marketing operations manager Kevin Hardiker gives his take on the sector

How are your point-of-purchase (POP) requirements changing?
We have found that we are using POP more to drive inspiration than ever before. However, the value ‘shout’ is still very important
 
What do you require in the way of new or different services from your print suppliers?
In what is a very competitive environment, speed to market is very important to us. We also need guidance and help on how to improve process and we need to be alerted to any new developments in the marketplace that might help us

What have you found to be good or bad in your recent dealings with printers?
Cost inflation is becoming a concern
 
How can printers improve their offering?
By improving their efficiency
 
Are there any POP innovations you are looking to explore?
Linked to our proposition on how we give customer ideas & inspiration
 
What are the main pressures on you as a buyer? For example, price, in-store compliance, timeliness of campaigns, environmental issues, ease of execution.
All of the above are a challenge. However, cost and the environment would be the most important

A PRINTER'S PERSPECTIVE
Simpson Group
Often we act as advisors and dream makers: clients can come to us with a sketchy brief of what they’d like to achieve and we need to find the most cost-effective and feasible method of turning the brief into a reality.

Knowing what works (and, more importantly, what doesn’t work) in retail display is key to assisting the clients. Being fully aware of instore design standard guidelines we create realistic POP for the specific targeted environments. The POP is not only aesthetically pleasing but is produced on the appropriate materials, is suitably packed, collated if required and delivered on time (usually a demanding deadline) to allow for a simple assembly/installation.

Dedicated account management is an important part of our work. We must develop an understanding of the clients’ business, their requirements and goals. Market research and keeping abreast of all developments in the retail and POP/print industries allows us to stay ahead of the pack and be global leaders in our field. We not only have to offer excellent service and have a hands-on approach, we need to have the versatility to offer all methods of print (digital, screen and litho) to suit all demands – from short-run or flagship requirements to large international campaigns.

Giving the client alternative options is also expected to allow for varied budgets and material choices are offered, to suit both temporary and permanent POP expectations.

The demands of the entertainment industry and the world of 3D movies and TV has also meant that we’ve developed a complementary 3D print technique, Poparc.

Whether our clients need a simple poster, window graphic or innovative 3D free standing display unit with LEDs and sound effects, they ultimately want the best product, at the best price and have it delivered yesterday. We endeavour to make this happen on a daily basis.

Annette Christie, business development executive, Simpson Group