POP vs. POS: What’s the Difference?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the jargon thrown around in the business world? Learning about concepts such as point of purchase (POP) and point of sale (POS) might seem unnecessary and confusing, but mastering the use of POP materials and POS systems can significantly benefit your business.

In this article, we’ll break down the difference between POP and POS, explain how they can be valuable for your business, and answer some common questions.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Point of Purchase vs. Point of Sale: Quick Facts
2. Point of Purchase (POP): What Is It and How Does It Work?
3. Point of Sale (POS): What Is It and How Does It Work?
4. POP vs. POS: Two Related but Distinct Concepts
5. FAQs

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Point of Purchase vs. Point of Sale: Quick Facts
2. Point of Purchase (POP): What Is It and How Does It Work?
3. Point of Sale (POS): What Is It and How Does It Work?
Show Full Guide
4. POP vs. POS: Two Related but Distinct Concepts
5. FAQs

Point of Purchase (POP): What Is It and How Does It Work?

Imagine walking down a grocery store aisle when suddenly a brightly colored display catches your eye. The display shows a desirable product and tells you exactly why you’d love it: it’s tasty, healthy, and best of all, it’s on sale!

Eye-catching displays like these are POP materials in action. Their goal is to spark the desire for a product or service, inform potential customers about the benefits of the product or service, position the brand in customers’ minds, and encourage them to make a purchase.

POP encompasses all the marketing materials located in a physical environment, all of which are designed to influence customer buying decisions at the point of purchase.

POP Examples

POP comes in many shapes and sizes—whatever you can imagine can likely be used as POP materials. Here are some examples:

• Signage and banners: Store signage, banners, posters, and shelf signs highlight promotions, sales, and new products.
• Physical displays: Product towers, in-store banners, and end-cap displays.
• Interactive displays: Interactive virtual displays, like touchscreens and digital kiosks, are POP assets that provide product information or special offers.
• Demonstration and sampling: Live product demos or free samples help entice potential customers to try products.
• Product packaging: One of the most important examples of POP is product packaging. Does it catch the customer’s eye and quickly tell them about the product?

When these POP materials are placed strategically throughout a store, they can significantly increase customer awareness of a particular product and improve the chances of making a sale.

Point of Sale (POS): What Is It and How Does It Work?

While POP encompasses the marketing materials placed throughout a store, point of sale (POS) is the actual checkout process the customer goes through to purchase the products. This includes swiping or tapping a credit card, interacting with a dedicated monitor, entering a loyalty number, and printing a receipt.

POS systems can include checkout terminals, monitors or card readers, barcode scanners, receipt printers, cash drawers, and software.

In addition to facilitating transactions, POS systems offer benefits such as tracking inventory, integrating with accounting software, displaying loyalty program information, and even marketing functions, like following up with customers via email and sending discounts.

Numerous POS providers, such as Square, Clover, and TouchBistro, are on the market. They offer both online and in-person checkout functions, and many also have mobile features like apps and plug-in readers that allow you to process sales using a mobile device.

Additionally, many POS systems offer industry-specific functions, catering to restaurants, bars, or liquor stores, for example.

POP vs. POS: Two Related but Distinct Concepts

POP and POS are two sides of the same coin, and they work together to facilitate and streamline your sales process. POP materials create the desire to buy, while POS systems process transactions and help maintain customer relationships.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the differences:

FAQs