Retailers Get Hooked:Hanging with Pegboard

The evolution of the retail display industry has yielded a multitude of changes in shelving possibilities.

One element that remains constant is pegboard, providing unparalleled adaptability and durability.  While a painted finish is most common, many do not realize pegboard can be customized.

Laminate finishes provide an infinite array of options for color and design.

Understanding the Hook You Need

The secret behind the popularity of pegboard is the hundreds of peghooks utilized to display tools, products, and much more.  Over the years, the peghook has developed from a simple single wire stem to hundreds of types designed to suit the varying needs of consumers.

Liability fostered the safety ball-tip hook, while security led to the creation of locking security hooks.  Unbalanced packaging brought the advent of the loop hook for better presentation.  The extensive variety of peghooks today allows us to hang products almost anywhere, thus providing many more merchandising opportunities to sell.

With the increase for more peghooks, the potential for clutter increases.

Utilizing the proper hook for your display eliminates the risk of clutter while still optimizing your retail space.  Specialty hooks are designed to display specific products like tools, fishing rods, and high security products.  If there is a place available to display a hanging product, there is a hook to put on it.

Once a display hook is selected, certain display rules and techniques should be followed.

The way peg hooks align, for example, determines how hard customers must work to see the products displayed.

• Universally sized packaging
  • can line up the hooks in straight rows and columns to form a ‘block’ display that is easy to shop.  Straight lines, either vertical or horizontal, are easy for the eye to navigate, making this the preferred technique.
• Randomly-sized packaging
  • introduces a challenge to placing hooks in a way that is once again easy for the eye to navigate.   One rule is to keep the tops of pegged products in a straight horizontal line. It’s like reading a book: words on the page read in straight lines for easy reading.  Pegged products work in the same manner.

Too Many Hooks, Too Little Time

Have you ever searched for a certain type and size of wood screw or nut & bolt in a DIY store?

As you arrive at the fastener section, your thoughts and reactions likely include the following:

• All of the packages hang so close together, it’s hard to single them out.
• Is there a color code for the item I need:
  • Round head vs. Flat head?
• Do the sizes run vertically or horizontally: by length or diameter?
• Your eyes strain to read the small type on the package, or see its contents.
• Once the item is found, there are only 20 per pack.
  • Is it offered in a larger package or in bulk?
    • Where are those?

This little exercise demonstrates why retailers and manufacturers must understand how customers visualize.  Structure of pegged products is needed to cut down search time, thereby frustration for consumers.

Every time you work on your peghook display, bear these examples in mind.  Control how your customer will shop your display by making it easy to navigate, have visual structure, and utilize logical product adjacencies.  Succeed here and you are halfway to a sale!

To explore your choices for the best display hook solution, contact Midwest Retail Services today.  Call 800-576-7577, use our convenient site link, or email us at info@mw-rs.com.  One of our display hook experts will be available to help you!

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