Floor Advertising: The First Step to Increased Sales

A recent study by Retail Industry Solutions and Cognizant found that four out of five purchases are still made in brick and mortar stores. How do retailers attract customers’ attention and make the most of the time that they are on the premises? An effective option is floor advertising. There are several reasons why this approach to in-store signage works:

• Floor advertising catches shoppers’ eyes. Psychologist Joseph S. King has done research on floor advertising and has found that it’s human nature to pay attention to the ground. Looking down may be even more common today – people are constantly looking down while texting, as well as while they are shopping and using their smartphones to search for product information. Floor advertising helps redirect consumers’ attention to the floor and delivers novel and relevant messages.

• Store floors are a greenfield for advertising. In retail environments, there’s typically a lot of visual signage competing for shoppers’ attention at eye level. The floor, however, is usually overlooked. Floor advertising in that context is unexpected and engaging.

• Floor advertising is bold. This type of advertising can be thought of as the equivalent to a billboard, but under shoppers’ feet. Bold colors, text, and images catch consumers’ attention.

Although floor advertising is a proven way to impact consumers at the point of decision, it’s often underused. A study by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Deloitte found that 65% of grocery manufacturers used floor ads only occasionally or infrequently. Retailers that have adopted this marketing approach, however, have been pleased with the results.

The benefits of floor advertising systems include increased sales and increased customer awareness. Consider the following examples from a range of categories:

• Health and beauty. A major health and beauty company used floor advertising to promote a new anti-wrinkle cream within their facial care category. After one month using floor advertising in stores, sales increased by 20%.

•  Electronics. A major retailer launched a campaign in which it sold in-store floor advertising space directly in front of an electronics fixture. The program increased sales in the category and generated, on average, over $40,000 per month in additional advertising revenue.

• Consumer packaged goods. A leading cereal brand created a prototype display fixture and placed floor graphics directly in front of it. The results were a 17% increase in brand sales, reduced consumer decision-making time, and increased sales in the product category overall of 1%.

• In-store services. The U.S. Postal Service used floor advertising to increase awareness of its “automated teller” machines. A study found that attention to signage increased to over 18%, awareness increased by 28%, and usage of the automated postal center machine increased by 11%.

Creative Ways to Deploy Floor Advertising

There is a wide variety of ways that floor advertising can be used to boost in-store sales. A floor advertisement used as an “entrance mat” near the door will attract shoppers into the store. Advertisements can be used to highlight new products, publicize special promotions, or reinforce messages conveyed through other forms of advertising such as print or television. For retailers that sell small products, floor advertising is also be a novel form of product locator which draws attention to items that might otherwise be overlooked on the shelf.

Rose Displays specializes in complete, read-to-use floor advertising systems. These solutions transform unused floor and counter surfaces into promotional opportunities. Not only are our B-Line and FloorWindo eye-catching, they are also reusable, skid-resistant, and simple to reposition without messy adhesives. Changing these floor graphics is as simple as lifting the protective cover (windo), removing your old graphic, and inserting your new one. With B-Line and FloorWindo, it’s easy to take the first step towards increased sales!

If you would like a free quote or talk to a Sign Expert for more information contact us and we will get back to you shortly.