POS is an abbreviation for Point of Sale
POP is an abbreviation for Point of Purchase
However the problem is that different people use the words to mean quite different things. What’s the difference between POS and POP – it depends who you ask!
In store promotion
In the field of print and graphics within the UK POS usually refers to printed material used to support a sales proposition. It is the sign that tells the customer about the product on display or the poster used to advertise an offer or promotion.
POP can be used in a similar context especially in North America. In the UK POP is more likely to be used to describe the branded stands used to display products, which naturally can also be printed with a sales message. For example the POP awards attract entries from designers of merchandising stands, e.g. the stands used by cosmetic companies to present their products in department stores. As a generalisation POS is usually two dimensional and POP is 3D.
Technology at the checkout
However these terms are also used quite differently in the context of EPOS systems. EPOS refers to electronic point of sale – which means tills linked to scanners reading barcode information on products. It is concerned with computerised stock management and price calculation at the checkout. The problem is people in that industry use POS and POP to mean something quite different to us. POS systems to them are the hardware and software used to process transactions at the till.
Digital POS
Now that signs used to promote products within shops can also be electronic as well as printed, the terminology can be still more confusing. The word digital has become an additional ingredient in this semantic melting pot – it is used as in digital print (output from printers which are connected directly to a computer), whereas digital signage usually means plasma and LCD screens. In other words where the information is never printed at all - it is simply displayed on a screen. Both these technologies may be used to advertise and promote products in shops and stores, so the phrase digital POS could refer to either!
What we mean by POS
In today’s world of computer search and pay per click advertising it makes life doubly difficult when two or more specialist suppliers to the same industry (i.e. each sector sells equipment to retailers) use the same words to describe quite different things.
By way of clarity therefore on this website POS and Point of Sale refer to printed matter including tickets, showcards, signs, leaflets, brochures, posters and banners used to promote and attract sales within shops, showrooms and other retail establishments. The products we supply are the poster frames, POS holders and shop signage equipment required to present these types of POS material in a professional manner.
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