End caps are very unique display fixtures. In their essence, they provide a two-fold purpose: they display items and they help to sell products. It’s like bundling your marketing and sales efforts into one experience – visually they capture your attention, and functionally they help convert browsers into buyers.
Typically end caps are broken up into three vertical sections with distinct sales and display roles. The top section of your end cap is prime real estate for signage and messaging. The core is for showcasing your featured product and encouraging user-interaction. And the bottom is for holding additional stock.
If you follow the below best practices for each section individually, you’ll end up with a compelling and effective overall display.
End cap signage should be used first and foremost to establish a theme for your display. This is where you introduce your product and set up your story. The banner should also host your value proposition, which could be based on a promotion, sale or limited-time offer. Always remember, your signage should be eye catching and informative so that customers take the next step to interact with your featured product(s).
This area is for showcasing. Keep some general display best practices in mind here: don’t overcrowd the area and place smaller items in front and bigger items in back. End caps can really sell products because they’ve got a great touch and feel experience – so set up your display items to enable interaction. If you’ve got an electronic product display, consider plugging it in so customers can test it out. If your product is consumable, consider offering free samples.
The bottom section of your end cap is for storage. Keep this area well stocked, but don’t lose visual appeal by cramming in too much. You don’t want to make the mistake of hitting a home run on your display and falling short on your ability to sell it. Here’s a hint: If you feel like you’re re-stocking your end cap often, that means you’re doing it right.
Most often, end cap displays are found at the end of long shelving fixtures, also known as gondolas. But even in the absence of such fixtures, retailers can create an effective end cap experience at the end of an aisle. The key is to create a display that transitions users between aisles and provides engaging touch points.
What’s an alternative end cap experience? A wall-mounted digital display board. They’re completely customizable and can be placed at the end of aisles to engage customers or complement other display items. Consider putting one up between aisles to slow traffic and create a transitional zone.
Placing a featured tabletop display at the end of an aisle can also create an end cap experience. Merchandising tables, or tabletop displays, are great touch-and-feel fixtures and can remind customers to take a minute and interact with products before walking past them. Staging an end cap scene with products found down the adjacent aisles is another alternative that can help drive foot traffic toward stocked product.
If you’re new to end caps or haven’t had the opportunity to take advantage of them, there are a few general things to keep in mind.
1. Stock them correctly. Not sure what items to display on an end cap? Featured or specialty products perform very well on end caps. In general, these items have a shorter shelf life and showcase well on this type of fixture. Commodity items are also good considerations since they’ll turn over fairly quickly and sync up with the life cycle of an end cap display.
2. Update them regularly. Make sure you’re updating your end caps often – for stores that sell consumables or perishable items, consider updating them weekly. For other retailers that are looking to showcase new inventory or promote sales items, make an update at least once a month. If you don’t have any products in stock to refresh the display, take it down. It’s better to have a fresh and fully stocked end cap than an old and outdated display.
3. Start out simple. You don’t have to reinvent the display wheel with an end cap. In fact, keep it simple to start. You can’t go wrong with a clean display that’s well organized. Keep featured products front and center to maximize the showcase effect. Make sure stocked items are aligned, in order and in ample supply. And if your display isn’t doing its job, don’t be afraid to change things up.
End Caps are product displays placed at the end of an aisle in a store. This location is a highly desirable location positioned facing a heavily trafficked main aisle.
When a customer enters a store, the first thing he or she will see is a multitude of aisles extending out in display, each one packed with products that you, as location owner, are trying to sell. You’ve got the customer through the door, which is an excellent start, but you need to go further. An effective end cap graphic signage display will draw the customer’s eye, compelling him or her toward the product.
End caps, as their name suggests, are placed at the end or edge of aisle shelving. Here is where many retail proprietors place the products that are most keen on selling. Why? There are a multitude of reasons why end cap displays sell well:
Consumer eye and foot traffic
: As stated above, your customers will see the end cap display before anything else in the store if your retail space is traditionally designed. This means that more foot traffic will occur in front of the area as shoppers pass by. With effective end cap graphics, you can draw their eyes to the promotion, making them stop.
The belief of a deal
: Customers are always on the lookout for bargains. By placing emphasis on the end cap promotion, shoppers naturally believe they are getting a deal on whatever product is displayed – especially if the signage draws attention to the low price.
Items sell quickly
: Effective end cap merchandise can sell faster than anything else in the store and this works to your advantage. Customers tend to buy if they believe they are about to miss out on a quality product. This assumption makes end caps effective in moving overstocked or discontinued merchandise quickly, clearing out your retail space for newer products.
The premier item
: If you’re displaying this product so prominently, then naturally the shopper will assume it is among the best in your retail store. Store owners can position products that augment or improve others, motivating consumers to spend more. For example, an automotive parts store can place new windshield wipers in an end cap location, prompting those in for just windshield fluid to consider a larger purchase.
Of course, end caps are not a guaranteed success. Not just any signage will produce improved store performance. With such a highly trafficked location, the last thing you want is end cap signage that doesn’t effectively sell or turns people away. Highest quality printing that features accurate brand Pantone hues, high resolution text, and vibrant backlit colors are hallmarks for end cap graphics. Usually constructed of strong, durable materials such as polystyrene, cardstock, acrylic, PETG or Sintra (Expanded PVC); end cap graphics are unique and the options are endless
Utilize color
– Shelving is designed to be pale and fade into the background. However, the product on display likely has colorful packaging. If this is the case, use contrasting color to pop the signage out in a way that complements the display.
Avoid text-heavy end cap signage
– Shoppers don’t have time read a manual in the store. Convey only important, concise information. Using images of the product in use is often more effective in showing use and attention grabbing.
Stress price
– Remember, the shopper likely will think the item is a bargain no matter what, especially if the price is reasonable and affordable.
When choosing a partner to help create effective end cap signage, select a company with a commitment to quality and a long history of over delivering on product lines.
Thanks to their high-profile, end-of-aisle position, shoppers pay extra attention to retail end caps — and that means you should, too.
From over-the-top eye-grabbers to workmanlike displays that get the job done without being too flashy, well-thought-out end cap features can make a world of difference when it comes to getting customers to engage with your products or brand.
Of course, end caps are about more than just displaying merchandise; they’re often designed to tempt shoppers to experience a product or to give select brands a visual boost. They also assist shoppers in navigating from one category into the next throughout the store, sometimes offering clues to what they’ll find in the aisle.
Eyewear End Cap (Seasonal)
The annual advent of “sunglass season” in the retail industry triggers a tremendous amount of planning, coordination and creativity between sunglass brands and the retailers who sell them to the consumer. This stylized eyewear end cap and in-aisle display resulted from a collaboration between Foster Grant, Walmart and VCI-Rose Displays.
‘Big Picture’ Footwear End Cap [+ In-Aisle Display]
Upon approach into the footwear department, the first thing shoppers notice here on the end panels is the large format graphic image. This is an example of using large-scale graphics to “tell a story” — one that connects to the idea of an active lifestyle.
In this case, positioning the large “active lifestyle” image to connect shoppers to the active lifestyle footwear aisles might be described as using a “dynamic visual cue” that assists with “visual navigation.”
Grocery End Cap – Multi-Use Fixture
This “Healthy Eating” end cap tells a curated product story (good-for-you food) while subtly evoking themes that include “farm to table” (the fresh oranges) and “eco-friendliness” (the natural wood materials).
Staples End Cap
This Staples end cap is an excellent example of how illuminated signage and graphics can be used to invite shoppers to engage with products. Sometimes the strategy is to showcase high-profile brands to signal to shoppers that you’ve got the popular name products they are looking for.
Home & Office Notebook End Cap
Not all end caps are created vertically. This neatly appointed custom millwork fixture shows there is no rule that says end caps can’t claim horizontal space as well. It’s also an example of how end caps can be created to serve as a feature destination for shoppers to meet and experience select products and brands. The illuminated signware commands attention and invites visitors to use the featured products to “Organize Your Ideas.”
Home & Office End Cap Pen Display
“Let Your Imagination Run Free” with these colorful, high-quality pens is another example of combining strong visuals with aspirational messaging to engage shoppers — in this case, to literally enjoy a tactile, “hands-on” experience with the product by drawing or doodling with the pens and paper provided here.
Home & Office Moleskine Notebook End Cap
Interactive and aspirational, this Staples illuminated end cap brings you closer to the featured brand (Moleskine, maker of classic and high-tech notebooks, invites customers to “unleash your human genius” by “bringing paper and digital together”), while the retailer announces to curious shoppers that, yes, it has the next-generation technology in a popular and well-known product line.
Kindle End Cap
This end cap showcasing the Amazon kindle is an example of how brands can transform an existing gondola to invite shopper engagement. Underneath the Kindle table is an existing gondola unit that VCI-Rose “dressed up” and retrofitted to create the look of a more upscale fixture.
SmartStand™ End Cap
This golf-themed end cap utilizes our SmartStand™ interactive kiosk to combine technology, illuminated signware and custom designed fixtures to deliver unique and memorable experiences that inspire shoppers to engage with your products and your brand.
Illuminated Interactive End Cap
This audio gear end cap is a good example of using an illuminated fabric backer to attract shoppers, and then to engage them to try out the featured headphones.
OK, ready for a rapid-fire recap of some additional, traditional end cap tips, best practices and strategies? Let’s go. First up, this page of end cap examples from Statusphere illustrates such important strategy tips as:
Set the Scene – Like Stella Artois did by constructing a Christmas-themed doorway out of their 6- and 12-packs (also a good example of the “seasonality” theme cited above).
Go Larger Than Life – Pepsi went super big with a massive, can’t-miss display for the Super Bowl.
Match Your Brand’s Personality – The M&M’s brand is best known for their brightly colored candies, so they fashioned a very brightly colored end cap.
Additional end cap strategy tips and design ideas include:
Emphasize the Banner – Traditional end cap design emphasizes using a strong headline-style banner to let shoppers know at a glance who you are and what your message is. This is still important, but today the banner concept is being reimagined with more and more creative ideas.
Break the Rules – The rule of thirds is vital to design, photography and art. It has also served as a helpful guideline for crafting basic end cap displays, with one school of thought suggesting: top third for the banner, middle third for product messaging, bottom third for the product. Imagining your end cap in sections can be a helpful organizing strategy, but today’s most important themes are creativity and clarity.
Entice Shoppers into Your Aisles – Positioning an end cap whose design and contents connect directly to what shoppers will find in the adjacent aisle is a common and helpful way of using end caps to assist shoppers in navigating your store.
Let There Be Light – The power of illumination to attract and engage shoppers will always be a powerful tool in your end cap strategy, as well as in your overall approach to visual merchandising. Attractors like illuminated light boxes and integrated shelf lighting can be used in countless ways to enliven the in-store experience.
Go High-Tech – Incorporating technology into your end cap strategy is a great way to prompt shoppers to interact with important merchandise and/or displays. For example, see how this interactive SmartStand display can integrate the personalization and convenience of online and mobile shopping into your end cap strategy with touchscreen displays and eye-catching LED lightboxes.
Tell a Story – Another way to approach the “tell a story” aspect of end cap display strategy is to think of it as using your imagination, having fun and letting the display “speak” to shoppers about the product, the brand or, best of all, the experience they will have with whatever is featured in the display.
Of course, one of the most important reasons to pay special attention to your end cap strategy is that these displays are positioned in what are some of the most important “locations” within your store. It is important to keep in mind that the end cap displays you position at the end of each aisle are occupying valuable, highly visible “real estate.”
Hopefully, some of the ideas and images shared here will help get your creativity flowing. And ideally, some of the end cap best practices discussed here will also fuel your inspiration.
To continue the conversation about how you can use end caps displays to catch the shopper’s eye and drive engagement in your retail space, don’t hesitate to contact us about your next project or about any of your in-store display and fixture needs.
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