Prior to 1990, consumption patterns in Korea mostly occurred at traditional markets and department stores. However, due to the income decrease in the middle class, which accounts for the majority in Korea, due to economic recession after the IMF crisi...
Prior to 1990, consumption patterns in Korea mostly occurred at traditional markets and department stores. However, due to the income decrease in the middle class, which accounts for the majority in Korea, due to economic recession after the IMF crisis, supermarkets where people can purchase products at lower price than other distributors became popular. Also, consumers want to satisfy their desire of consumption in a short time in fast-changing society, and supermarkets fulfill such satisfaction quickly and easily by combining the traditional market and department store and enabling consumers to purchase various products at one place.
Starting with the appearance of these supermarkets, Korea’s distribution industry began a revolution and supermarkets now have a significant influence in distribution industry that there is a fierce competition among supermarkets.
Numerous advertisements are found in the mass media, but many advertisements are also found at places within supermarkets where various products, such as food and home appliances, are concentrated. As a form of advertisement that considered the environmental aspect in a supermarket with a great deal of products, an absence in the guidance factor on visual information design may lead to confusion in consumers looking for products. In order to solve such problem, the function of POP as an effective source to provide necessary information in a complex supermarket plays an important role.
In relation to the connection between POP and sign design, sign design is systemized in public places and the environment of public objectivity at a greater meaning, and practically is an elementary unit in communication that presents various information, its referential nature, and its symbolic nature. Based on the nature, it notifies the location of an object or directions of specific building, such as subway, airport or hospital in advance (signs, omen). Therefore, POP as the sign design that considers the environmental aspect of supermarkets is the advertisement that leads to direct purchase by providing the product information to the unspecified many.
Therefore, this study aimed to study about POP, which enables anyone to seek information conveniently and easily, and selected ‘POP among many visual information design elements at supermarkets’ as the object of study.
Supermarkets have strong brand awareness and many customers, and may expect a high profit through the attempt to change into a complex space for cultural life by utilizing POP aggressively and attracting customers.
The ultimate goal of supermarkets is ‘customer satisfaction. They need to understand how customers’ desires are changing based on various changes in environment accurately and quickly, and satisfy such desires appropriately to survive from the competition. To do so, the role of POP should become more prominent.
Generally, there is the path from when the customer enters the store to purchase products, in other words, the customer circulation. Therefore, all posted advertisements are present according to unified expression plan based on the customer circulation, despite different content, shape or material of advertisement, or where they are posted.
Accordingly, customers encounter POPs from the moment they enter the supermarket until they leave. Customers mostly think about their shopping list before entering the supermarket, but frequently purchase products other than what they had in mind when they are finished.
Like this, POP has taken an important place as a visual information design element in product purchasing.
This study examined the various molding expressions of POP at supermarkets and the roles of POP in satisfying visual desires.
In order to maximize the effects of marketing communication strategies at supermarkets, the type of POP must be more specifically defined depending on consumer inclination and content of the message to be delivered.
To understand more accurate purchasing mentality in the future, continuous studies on various expression methods in addition to the relationship between the product display at the store or POP advertisement may be required.
The objective of this study is to seek the direction of POP’s information design as a visual information design element at supermarkets.
Chapter 1 examines the background and objective of the study in relation to sign design and POP, and the methods and scope of the study.
Chapter 2 examines about the understanding of sign design and POP, the perceptual principle of signs, and the previous studies on the readability of typography as a delivery function. Sign designs and POP present the importance of the role of communication as the method to effectively deliver information.
Chapter 3 examines foreign study cases on POP at supermarkets, and conducted case study and analysis to find out about the current status of POP at supermarkets.
As a result of analysis on the visual elements of Korea’s major supermarkets, including e-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, in Chapter 4, following results were drawn in effectively recognizing information delivery in consideration of the environment at supermarkets.
First, among the elements of sign system, a clear POP structure became helpful by providing visual convenience. Second, sign system at supermarkets was effective in recognizing categories to display information on the space based on the place of installation. Third, in consumer’s perspective, a systemized design that enables consumers to find product quickly and easily through POP may contribute in constructing functionally outstanding sign system as well.
Chapter 5 discussed about the limitations on this study about POP as an effective visual information design element at supermarkets, and presented proposals on future studies.