First, it was gloom and doom. eCommerce was going to drive brick and mortar stores to extinction. It was an interesting prediction, but apparently, the experts who came up with it neglected to pay attention to what consumers were actually doing.

Sure, there are big names like Blockbuster and Tower Records that have gone the way of the dodo. There are entire segments that have shrunk to a fraction of their previous size. Books and music fall into this category. Taken as a whole, the physical retail space is alive and well. Turns out that consumers actually want to have physical interaction with many of the things they buy.

Partnership

It was starting to get ugly. Consumers would go to a brick and mortar store to physically examine a product. Then they’d go home and order it online. Usually for less than what the brick and mortar store had on the price tag.

This became known as “showrooming,” and again, the pundits offered this as the sign of the end of the line for physical retail stores.

But brick and mortar came up with a few unexpected innovations. The technologies that once threatened to do away with brick and mortar are now feeding their resurgence.

“I Need More Info”

One of the biggest reasons why consumers initially migrated away from making purchases at brick and mortar stores was because websites offered superior sources for information. At a physical store you might get nothing more than the price tag.

Consumers, used to the multimedia rewards of the Internet, didn’t find this acceptable. It didn’t go unnoticed by physical retail stores. They began to look around for brick and mortar stores who had always put more than just the price on a tag.

It wasn’t a difficult search. The carpeting, lighting, and furniture industries have always been known for being extremely generous with the additional information and details about products.

You don’t just get the price. You also get valuable information about installation and care. Which is why it really isn’t fair to say that merchandise in carpet, lighting, or furniture stores have price tags. More often, it’s a price sheet.

Borrowing from the Experts

We’ve noticed an upswing in orders for larger size vinyl price tag holders. That’s good news. It means the rest of the retail industry has started to catch on to the benefits of being generous with the detailed information they’re offering, along with how much an item costs.

You’re starting to see more of this in stores. Sometimes, it’s a mixture boosted by technology. In all cases, it’s brick and mortar stores proving their relevance to consumers and winning them back through the doors.

And, because it’s all about packaging and presentation, Vinyl Art counts these industries among our biggest customers. We’re asked to make vinyl holders ranging from something along the size of a business card or smaller, all the way up to the dimensions of a full sheet of paper or even larger.

While consumers may just be starting to think about the upcoming summer months, retail is several cycles ahead of them. April is generally the month when we begin to work with our clients to prepare for what they’ll need for the holiday season. We’ll actually start production of these products in July, when everybody else is shooting off fireworks and having a second slice of watermelon.

This year, more than in previous years—and from retailers other than our carpet, lighting, and furniture clients—we expect to be asked less about vinyl price tag holders…and more about vinyl price sheet holders. A larger size also means that the best way to keep them associated with the right product is by adding an adhesive back.

No problem. We can produce them in any size—and we can make them as adhesive backed pockets in any size, too.


Want to Learn More?

Contact the Vinyl Art Team at 800-569-1304
Rob Slattery | Executive Sales Director | robs@vinylart.wpengine.com
Tim Hitchings | Vice President | timhitchings@vinylart.wpengine.com