Point of purchase displays are proven sales drivers, but their success can hinge on being displayed according to planned location and schedules. Checkpoint Systems Inc., a provider of RFID systems for tracking consumer products, is betting that a Goliath Solutions RFID system that monitors store adherence to POP display plans can contribute to the success of displays. It is investing $2.5 million in Goliath.
“POP display compliance in retail stores is poor, with only about 50% compliance,” says John Thorn, general manager of supply chain and brand solutions for Checkpoint. “This Goliath tool gives the brand owner and the retailer the ability to see what compliance is across a network of stores.”
The Goliath system places on a POP display case an RFID tag that can be read by wireless RFID readers within 40 feet, Thorn says. The readers send data to a hub application hosted by Goliath indicating the presence of a POP display case, including when it was displayed, whether it remained in the intended space, and when it was removed. This allows retail managers and suppliers to access the web-based application to confirm that a POP promotion was displayed at the right place and time and to see how long it took to sell out.
By comparing information on how quickly POP displays sell out with where they were placed, such as near a checkout station or near complementary products, managers can determine the most effective ways to position the displays, Thorn says. After analyzing such information, corporate managers can then e-mail notes to store managers throughout a retail chain on best practices in positioning POP displays. “When they position displays of chips near displays of salsa, brand managers may find they sell more of both,” Thorn says.
The system has its limitations, requiring additional input from store managers. Because the RFID system only places tags on the display case and not on the individual products for sale, for instance, it’s up to store personnel to assure the promotional displays are properly stocked.
Checkpoint, which is also beginning to develop middleware for integrating RFID data with back-end software applications like inventory management, sees the POP display monitoring data eventually integrating with other applications as part of a broader trade promotion management system. TPM systems are designed to help suppliers as well as retailers manage in-store cooperative marketing programs.
The RFID data collected in the POP display monitoring system will eventually be available through the forthcoming Electronic Product Code Network, more commonly known as the EPC Network, which will make RFID data collected throughout supply chains available to authorized users over the Internet, Thorn says. The EPC Network is being developed along with data standards developed by the Uniform Code Council and its European counterpart, EAN International. “Our desire here is to create an open environment that allows brands and managers to work together,” Thorn says.
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