The Most Commonly Used Materials in Retail Displays -2

Plastic materials are even more complex than metal. The most common type of plastic used in retail fixtures is acrylic. POP displays are relatively easy to fabricate out of acrylic, and acrylic displays are widely used in retail. The downside of acrylic is it can scratch easily, is more fragile and damages more easily than other types of materials, and can turn yellow over time after prolonged exposure to UV lighting in stores. Injection molded plastic shelves, bases and other display components are also fairly common in the point-of-purchase industry. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of injection molded plastic materials such as ABS, HIPS, PMMA, and PP is important in creating an effective design. Also with injection molding, unit costs may be lower, but upfront tooling costs can be hefty so volume plays a bigger role as the tooling costs will need to be amortized across the quantity of units produced.

Vacuumed formed plastic is also widely used to create displays, most notably in the cosmetic industry as well as for in-store signage. Vacuum formed plastic is fabricated using a lower tech process, and therefore tooling costs are lower than injection molded tooling costs. However, vacuum formed plastic lacks the strength and durability of injection molded plastic. There are many other types of plastic fabrication methods such as blow molds and rotational molds as well as many other plastic materials such as PVC, expanded PVC, extruded plastic, and so on. If you are working with a China POP displays company, make sure they have a solid understanding of these types of materials.