If you only look at cost, POP (point of purchase) and POS (point of sale) units look like “nice to have” extras: something marketing dreamt up, something you buy as cheaply as you can and throw into the store.

From my experience, that mindset is a missed opportunity.

POP and POS are where you stand out in the aisles. They are where you showcase high‑margin products, new ranges, seasonal pushes – the things that actually move the profit needle. They are also the fixtures that take the most battering: high traffic, trolleys, kids, constant refilling.

So the real question isn’t “what’s the cheapest stand?”. It’s:

• Will this unit make the product look irresistible?
• Will it survive real store life for years, not months?
• Can I re‑use it across campaigns so the capex earns its keep?

The common mistakes: flimsy, off‑brand, forgotten

Walking UK stores, I see the same problems again and again:

• Flimsy, throwaway stands
  Cheap cardboard or under‑engineered metal that looks tired after a few weeks. Bent edges, leaning frames, wobbling bases. It sends exactly the wrong message about whatever is on it.

• Off‑brand colours and shapes
  POP units that don’t sit in the visual language of the store: strange colours, awkward shapes, graphics that fight with surrounding fixtures.

• Awkward to refill and maintain
  Beautiful in a render, painful in reality. Staff struggle to refill without mess, products fall forward or disappear at the back, and the unit quickly becomes a dumping ground.

• Short‑term thinking
  Units bought “for a promotion” with no thought for what happens afterwards. They don’t integrate with the main fixture systems, can’t be adjusted, and end up in the back room or the skip.

Good POP/POS does the opposite:

• It makes the product the hero, not the hardware.
• It feels part of the store, not dropped in from another world.
• It is robust and easy to work with, so staff don’t resent it.
• It is designed to live a long, hard life, not one campaign.

Real examples: quality and durability in action

One story I often come back to is a wing display for stacked promotional products:

• Designed for a stack of a single SKU on promotion.
• Built with CAEM’s usual engineering discipline – robust frames, proper fixings, sensible geometry.
• Visually simple, clean, clearly focused on the product.

The result?

• Those units have been on site for nine years now.
• They’ve lived through changes in range, staff, managers, and even formats.
• And they still look as good as day one.

That is what long‑term capex looks like: an investment that keeps doing its job year after year, not a “one and done” spend.

We’ve done many others in the same spirit:

• Battery displays with lockable storage

  • Security for high‑value batteries.
  • Tidy, high‑visibility presentation at the same time.

• Impulse units for checkouts

  • Compact, robust units that handle constant picking and refilling.
  • Designed to avoid clutter and keep queue areas flowing.

• Cushion rack displays and soft goods features

  • Structures that keep soft items looking inviting, not slumped.
  • Easy to dress, easy to maintain.

• Feature units for large furniture and bulky items

  • Giving big products a real stage without making the area feel cramped.
  • Still modular enough to move and reconfigure as the range evolves.

The common thread: our clients keep coming back for these, and for new designs, because they see that a well‑engineered POP unit is not a consumable; it’s a long‑term tool.

Lighting: making margin visible

Lighting is often treated as “someone else’s problem” – left to the landlord or the general store scheme. But shelf and feature lighting are some of the easiest ways to:

• Pull attention to high‑margin ranges
• Increase perceived quality
• Make colours and packaging work harder

Systems like Ardente – a universal LED shelf lighting system that can be added to existing shelving – are effective precisely because they:

• Can be retrofitted without rebuilding the bay
• Are easy to adjust when shelf heights change
• Focus light exactly where it matters: on the product, not the ceiling

When you combine a well‑designed POP unit or feature bay with focused lighting, you get a very sharp effect:

• The product is brighter than its surroundings.
• Edges, textures and colours are clearer.
• The area feels “special” without needing gimmicks.

In my experience, the ROI on this kind of lighting is a “no‑brainer” – but only if the fixtures it sits on are solid and will be there for the long term.

POP, POS and lighting as serious capex – almost “forever”

From a finance and owner’s perspective, I look at POP/POS and lighting as serious capex assets, not consumables.

That means we design and manufacture them with a simple philosophy:

• Quality and durability first

  • These displays are thrown into the harshest parts of a store: entrances, aisle ends, checkouts.
  • They get hit, leaned on, dragged, and moved.
  • If the frame, coatings and fixings aren’t robust, the unit quickly becomes a liability.

• Capex should last “almost forever”

  • Obviously nothing is literally forever, but a well‑made metal POP unit should comfortably survive multiple campaigns and refits.
  • The cost per year of use becomes tiny compared with the value of the space and the product it carries.

• Modular and re‑usable by design

  • Whenever possible, our POP/POS designs use CAEM’s existing systems and interfaces: TN9, M25, S50, wirework, Ardente rails.
  • That means components can be re‑used, re‑dressed and re‑combined across stores and campaigns.

When I speak to retailers, I frame it like this:

• You’re paying your rent, rates, staff and energy either way.
• The question is whether that expensive space at the aisle end or checkout is being used by a flimsy, forgettable stand – or by a well‑designed, durable feature that actually earns its place.

How CAEM works with you on POP, POS and lighting

In practice, the way we help clients with POP, POS and lighting is very similar to how we approach full store formats:

1. You come to us with a commercial problem or idea

   • “We need to push this high‑margin category.”
   • “We want a better presence for this brand.”
   • “We need a family of stands that can live across all stores.”

2. We ask questions beyond the sketch

   • Where will this live – entrance, aisle, checkout?
   • How often will it be refilled?
   • How much abuse will it realistically take?
   • How do you want it to fit with your main fixtures and brand?

3. We design with longevity and modularity in mind

   • Using CAEM systems and proven components wherever possible.
   • Engineering for ease of assembly, stability, and long life.

4. We prototype, pilot, then scale

   • You see and test the real unit, with real staff and real product.
   • We tweak if needed, then support roll‑out at the right speed.

The goal is always the same:
Your POP, POS and lighting should not be an afterthought, or a stream of disposable stands. They should be a quiet, powerful engine for margin – strong enough to live in the roughest parts of your store, and good enough to keep doing that year after year.

If you’re already paying for that space, it makes sense to put fixtures there that can carry their weight – literally and commercially.