What are retail graphics and why are they important?

19/10/22

Creating the right retail graphics can make all the difference. It’s no secret that retail is a hugely competitive environment. From the high street to the shopping mall, brands and retailers are constantly battling to draw shopper attention and drive footfall in-store.

Window displays, visual merchandising displays, signage, floor stickers and point of sale… all clever ways to get the shopper to stop in their tracks.

Not forgetting retail activations outside of the store environment, including experiential marketing campaigns and pop-up shops, flags and banners – all strong additions to your brand portfolio.

But you need to get your graphics pitch perfect to really achieve standout. Think creative, big, bold and memorable, visual images, promotional messages or persuasive point of sale. Whatever you do, make it confident. There’s no room for tentative modesty.

We’re lucky enough to have experience working with some of the world’s leading brands and retailers across fashion, cosmetics, home and garden, hospitality, sport and grocery. In this article, we’ll explain more about retail graphics, with some examples of how we’ve incorporated them them into our clients’ projects.

Why are retail graphics important?

Retail graphics are important because they do the essential job of bringing your brand to life, giving it an engaging personality to attract shoppers and enticing them in-store. In fact, retail graphics are proven to be a highly effective form of advertising which can influence purchase: your ultimate aim.

Here, you can really differentiate your brand from your competitors, communicating your own USPs, like sustainability or product warranty, in your own way.

Plus, aspirational retail graphics can really encourage an impulse purchase.

Exterior retail graphics

The area outside your store is all-important. Here’s where you can give shoppers a sneak preview of what to expect inside. Remember, first impressions count, so make yours a showstopper. This could be the difference between a shopper coming into your store… or moving on next door.

Permanent retail graphics are perfect as markers for your location, announcing your brand in the high street or shopping mall.

Meanwhile, temporary retail graphics, such as store window displays, window decals, bollard wraps, banners, flags and pavement signs can be changed and adapted for seasonal events. These are also great for special promotions, such as sales or new product launches.

Retail building wraps such as this one we created for Toms is a great example of how exterior retail graphics can propel your brand or retail store in the high street.

Building wrap TOMS

Interior retail graphics

Once you’ve enticed your shopper in-store, you need to keep them there, intriguing and inspiring them with your interior retail graphics. These are great as navigation aids, and for advertising and persuading shoppers to purchase.

Navigation is key, helping to clearly direct shoppers to their desired products and categories. Shoppers wandering around aimlessly can be inclined to give up and leave. Direct them to where they’re want to go and they’re much more likely to purchase.

Promotional messaging at your point of sale can help to drive purchases: think multibuy, special offers and discounts, rewards or product information.

Meanwhile, high-quality aspirational imagery is your best friend in-store. Here, you can show people enjoying the product, or include any endorsements from celebrities or influencers. This is a particularly good device for the fashion, footwear and luxury brand industries.

Visuals are all important in merchandising display, too, often harnessing retail graphics to enhance the presentation of a group of products or highlight a shoppable promotion, for example.

This is often the case for seasonal displays or changeovers, such as spring/summer collection, Valentine’s Day, Christmas or sale.

Creating a fan zone environment was the brief from Nike when they asked us to help them with the Women’s World Cup in-store campaign. Impactful graphics stole the show in this activation.

Experiential and pop-up shop retail graphics 

Experiential marketing campaigns and pop-up shops are typically short-term, temporary activations. But they still need a full-on retail graphics approach — in fact, often more so than for a standard in-store promotion. These are generally a mix of permanent and temporary retail graphics, which work hard together to promote the brand.

These activations need to make as much noise as possible during their short lifespan. Here isn’t the place for subtlety. It’s about shouting loudly, announcing their arrival, location and purpose and really getting the brand into the shopper’s psyche.

Check out this pop-up shop we created for FAO Schwarz in Selfridges.

Sustainable retail graphics

We have an exclusive range of ECO products that are sustainable and recyclable alternatives to traditionally used display materials. Find out more about our ECO range.

We also boast some of the most environmentally friendly print machinery, using 75% less energy required to power than older large format print machines.

Nike refer to us as ‘the experts in the room’ when it comes to sustainable retail display. Read the Nike case study here.

Nike Fabric visual merchandising light boxes

Stunning retail graphics, every time

We have bundles of experience in creating amazing retail graphics for some of the world’s leading brands and retailers, just check out our work.

We also have some of the best large format print kit in the business, that creates high-quality, visually stunning outcomes every time.

How to order retail graphics 

Ordering retail graphics couldn’t be easier… you can simply send us your print ready artwork, or we can get involved in the creative process and come up with some retail design concepts for you.

As an award-winning retail design agency, we have an in-house creative team that have bundles of experience in designing retail graphics and display activations. We’d love to work with you on some creative concepts for your next campaign.

Our survey and installation can visit the stores or retail locations of your planned activation. We can recommend what retail graphics display opportunities are available to you, plan for any potential installation challenges and discuss what the overall retail campaign could look like.

We’ll take care of the project management and installation for you so you can rest-assured that your retail graphics are taken care of, leaving you to get on with your day job.

Ready to talk about retail graphics? Drop us a line on 01920 461244 or hello@kgkgenix.com

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