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What Does PDQ Stand For?
The spelled-out meaning of PDQ is surprisingly simple. PDQ stands for Pretty Darn Quick or Product Displayed Quickly. Usually, PDQ is used in the context of PDQ displays, which are retail-ready displays that come fully assembled and stocked. As the name implies, PDQ displays are fast. The idea is that no one needs to spend much time on setup. Getting a PDQ display ready for the floor might be as simple as popping open some cardboard and placing the display in the right location.
Pretty Darn Quick (PDQ) displays have a lot of benefits and advantages for consumer product companies. With a PDQ display, your products spend less time on the shelves and provide valuable advertising space to improve your brand’s recognition in the industry.
Continue reading to learn more about PDQ displays and how they can help sell your products.
Table of Contents:
- What is a PDQ Display?
- What Does PDQ Mean in Retail?
- What Are the Benefits of PDQ Displays?
- Best Products for PDQ Displays
- Where Do PDQs Work Best?
What Is a PDQ Display?
Essentially, PDQ displays are bins, trays or racks that can be installed fast and with little effort. Corrugated cardboard PDQs offer small and lightweight product displays, typically used in the impulse purchase sections of shops, checkouts or at sales counters. Sometimes, you can place PDQs in aisles that get a lot of foot traffic. They are versatile point-of-sale devices used to sell a variety of products.
A PDQ display can:
- Keep products well-organized, even if they are oddly shaped or sized
- Help promote your brand image
- Encourage impulse buying
- Be affordable and quick to manufacture
While PDQ displays work well any time of year, their ease of assembly makes them a good pick for short-term goals and seasonal promotions. With the right design, cardboard PDQ packaging can also be sturdy, so you can use them for long-term goals and displays. They’re incredibly customizable, so you can use them for unique brand goals, products and designs.
What Does PDQ Mean in Retail?
In retail, PDQ displays are also known as Shelf-Ready Packaging or Retail Ready Packaging. PDQs displays are vital for helping you sell your products in retail spaces.
When writing their shopping lists, consumers probably don’t add brands next to each item. They might have a mental note of which brands they prefer, but pricing and branding can sway them. You can get your products in front of customers quickly and efficiently using PDQ packaging and displays. Improving your products’ shelf visibility can help them stand out and increase impulse purchases.
There are two main functions of PDQ displays — they fast-track product stocking, and they are advertising spaces. Most PDQ displays require little to no setup. You can stock trays, bins and racks with products before going to a retail store. Once you have arrived, all you have to do is place your display in its designated spot. The ability to set up multiple displays ensures your product can be in as many stores as possible.
Another element of PDQs packaging is that they provide additional free advertising space. The sides and backs of PDQs can showcase product pictures, extra product information for consumers and QR codes for your app or website. This is particularly useful if you run a competition or promotion where you can easily add callouts and information to consumers. If you want to host a tasting at a store, PDQs can reinforce your brand’s identity and offer consumers additional information. Providing customers with all this extra information can help you influence their purchasing decisions.
PDQs are a convenient way to stock your products and a powerful communication tool for brands. Used correctly, they can significantly impact your product’s sales.
What Are the Benefits of PDQ Displays?
PDQ displays are well suited for retail spaces, especially areas with limited space, such as sales counters and checkouts. Retail is all about making sales, so it is best to take advantage of any space in a store to display your product. Every square inch of product placement real estate has the potential to improve your bottom line — and what retailer doesn’t want to do that?
A major benefit of PDQ displays is they’re delivered all but ready to set up. Employees simply take them out of their shipping boxes and place them on the retail floor so you can start selling products within minutes. Retailers don’t have to spend time stocking shelves or organizing how product sits on a shelf or counter.
A primary driver behind the easy design of PDQs is the fast pace of retail — the less time a store associate or merchandiser spends on setting up stock, the more time they have to focus on selling your product and setting up your displays elsewhere.
If you want to catch impulse buyers, PDQs can be ideal. They can be customized to your specific brand look. Strong colors create a visually appealing display that will draw consumers to your products. Combine attention-grabbing visuals with the ability to place PDQ displays nearly anywhere to drive purchases, especially at the checkout section or on sales counters.
As more and more industries focus on the environment and sustainability, so does retail. PDQs are an environmentally sustainable display option as they can be made from cardboard. As a result, they can be reused and recycled. In certain instances, you can even use recycled materials to produce PDG display units.
As a bonus, PDQ displays are customizable. The colors, messaging, size and shape can be custom-built to your specifications. You can reinforce your branding by matching your PDQ to your packaging, the season or any competition you are holding. You can easily tailor your brand messages and product displays in different regions. This will ensure your products stand out from the many products in a store.
Best Products for PDQ Displays
Smaller products work best in PDQ displays. You can stock them with any number of items, but you generally place merchandise in multiple rows or stacks. Anything from chapstick to earbuds to foil packs can work in a PDQ display. But it’s more than the product you’re selling — it’s also how you brand them that can make a difference.
Eye-catching colors and graphics, bright logos, quick, sharp one-liners and value propositions all make PDQs practical tools that grab customers’ eyes and educate them on the product while encouraging them to buy.
Selling a variety of products is easy with the right PDQ. You can sell:
- Sweets
- Greeting cards
- Lip balm
- Makeup
- Gum
- Hair accessories
- Hand sanitizer
- Personal hygiene products
- Electronics accessories
- Food and drinks
- Toys
- Batteries
When choosing products for a PDQ display, consider your demographic and the purpose of the display. A point-of-purchase (POP) display at the cash register might benefit from eye-catching designs to help them stand out. If your product needs a little explanation, such as a novel new item, you could work that into your PDQ display and leave enough room for more product details.
Consider the cost of products selected for PDQ displays, too. They typically hold small or low-cost items that are easy to grab and go. One of the most common ways to use a PDQ display is to organize large quantities of products. Take lip balm, for example. They might be held in foil packs that would be time-consuming to hang on peg hooks. If you’re in a rush to get a holiday promotion out, a PDQ display offers speed and organization.
If you use a PDQ display that only fits one or two items, make sure you’re using the display to its full advantage. In this case, its purpose isn’t necessarily to keep products organized but to offer more information or draw the customer in. You would need stand-out designs to make the PDQ display worthwhile. Pairing your products with the right PDQ design is crucial.
Where Do PDQs Work Best?
PDQ displays are right at home in many different retail settings. Since they support all kinds of products, you can find them in everything from gas stations to car dealerships.
Some of the best retail spaces for PDQs include:
- Airports kiosks and stores
- Supermarkets
- Gas station retailers
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores
- Pharmacies
- Electronics shops
- Mall kiosks
- Truck stop retailers
While PDQ displays work well in almost any setting, you’ll want to consider their placement within that setting. If your item is related to another purchase, such as coffee pods to go with a coffee maker, try putting them next to the larger purchase. Putting items next to the main attraction can also make them seem more affordable and remind customers of other items they may need. Placing your PDQ displays is just one part of the larger puzzle of maximizing their benefits.
Create Custom Cardboard PDQ Displays With Creative Displays Now!
If you’d like to learn more about PDQs and see how and if they can make a difference, contact Creative Displays Now or give us a call today at 1-855-284-6922. Our experienced team will help your design custom PDQs that will help get your products the attention they deserve, helping you drive profits.
Creative Displays Now has over 60 years of experience in the custom retail display business and has won over 100 industry awards. With the help of our team, we can tell you what will sell and use tested methods to sell your products. Speak to a member of our team today!
*Post was last updated on April 12, 2023 at 2:00PM EST*
