Increase Club Store and Retail Sales with Pallet Skirts

It’s safe to say that consumers love buying in bulk. Despite the rise of eCommerce and internet-based shopping, wholesalers like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale Club continue to defy the general downturn of traditional retail sales. Wholesale membership is even increasing in popularity among the Millennial demographic. Not only are consumers spending more on average per trip, but they also spend more time shopping and make more impulse purchases at club stores.

Having product presence in a wholesale club store or a high-volume retail environment can drive significant sales for both major and local brands alike. However, competition has never been stiffer for consumer goods brands. To stand out in a crowded club store, brands must take advantage of all marketing real estate that is available.

Fortunately for brands that produce a product that ships to retailers on pallets, there is an incredibly effective yet underutilized marketing opportunity to explore: pallet skirts.

A pallet skirt is a type of point-of-purchase (POP) retail display used to promote a specific product or merchandise. Also commonly referred to as a pallet wrap, pallet skirts are typically made of corrugated material and encase the bottom half of pallet displays with four large panels, adding valuable marketing real estate to your product from every angle. In a club store, pallet skirts often cover the stacked wooden pallets that lift the product off of the sales floor.

The Benefits of Club Store Pallet Skirts

Eye-catching pallet skirts can engage consumers with more impact than if the product just sat in an unmarked pallet display or on a retail shelf. Along with the aesthetic advantages, here are three benefits pallet skirts can deliver to brands:

Benefit #1: Product Education

A well-designed pallet skirt educates the end consumer and inspires them to take action, thus boosting sales. The added real estate of pallet skirts provides more room for information on the product beyond what primary packaging alone has room to provide.

Benefit #2: Product Protection During Shipment

When shipping from a manufacturer to a wholesale facility, pallet skirts helps protect the product inside during transit. The extra layer of corrugated reinforces the pallet display and provides added structural integrity to minimize the risk of product damage.

Benefit #3: Supply Chain Efficiencies

From a supply chain perspective, pallet skirts can help brands manage product inventory. At a glance, production personnel can use pallet skirts to easily recognize and identify the palletized products in the warehouse.

How to Design an Effective Pallet Skirt Display

Club stores and high-volume retailers have their own set of retail packaging guidelines that brands must follow. However, to create an effective pallet skirt that drives sales, here are design tips to keep in mind:

Design for the Environment: With a no-frills approach to the overall shopping experience, club stores are notorious for dim lighting. Consider opting for bold and contrasting colors on a pallet skirt to minimize the risk of your design blending into the busy retail environment and going unnoticed by shoppers.

Keep It Simple: Pallet skirts essentially act like billboards, so it’s best to keep the design simple and concise. Excessive graphics or messaging can be distracting and take away from the effectiveness of the pallet skirt. Instead, the design should be easy to process while passing by. The messaging should also be legible from at least 30 feet away to attract consumers from afar.

Create a Cohesive Brand Story: The look and feel of the full pallet should serve as an extension of the primary packaging. Don’t forget to consider the shipper and design tray when designing the pallet skirt. Taking advantage of the real estate on secondary packaging enhances brand recognition and tells a cohesive brand story.   

Digital Printing for Pallet Skirts

Digital printing for corrugated displays such as pallet skirts offers many benefits that flexography and litho-lamination can’t. Because digital print does not require print plates to transfer the image onto the corrugated material, brands can easily swap out pallet skirt designs based on seasonality, current marketing campaigns, and limited-time promotions.

Digital printing is also available at low minimum quantity orders, making it easier for smaller brands to incorporate POP retail displays into their marketing campaigns.

Stand Out in the Club Stores with Custom Pallet Skirts

To stand out in a crowded club store or a high-volume retailer, brands must make the most out of all available real estate. Pallet skirts are an effective way to engage consumers, reinforce branding, and ultimately, drive sales when it matters most — at checkout.