The world of free-standing display units is full of unique words and acronyms. Most of these mean very little to the new or occasional visitor! Please see below for some definitions of the most common (and most confusing!) terms in the world of point of sale:
The term FSDU stands for Free Standing Display Unit or Floor Standing Display Unit. The terms’ usage is fairly equal; however, FREE standing display units is a slightly more common interpretation than FLOOR standing display units.
Typically the term FSDU refers to customised cardboard display stands. Occasionally, however, this term is used to refer to display stands made of other materials. Other materials used include Foamex stands, and general point-of-sale stand displays, as long as they are free-standing displays.
What Does CDU Stand For?
When talking about retail or POS displays, the letters CDU stands for countertop display units. The acronym CDU normally refers to cardboard countertop display units.
Occasionally, however, the term is also used for other tabletop or counter display units such as Perspex display units.
Beware of other interpretations outside the world of cardboard display stands as there are many definitions for CDU with the the most common being the Christian Democrats Union politcal party in Germany! But to us, a CDU is always a countertop display unit, an item of point of sale display that we excell at producing fast for dozens of clients.
What Is A Pallet Wrap Display Stand?
This is a very misleading term for someone not familiar with the point-of-sale industry. It is nothing to do with the plastic shrink-wrap sold by the packaging industry!
Instead a pallet wrap display stand is a cardboard or Correx FSDU display that fits onto a standard sized pallet. This gives a highly mobile point-of-sale solution that is sometimes sent to the retailer fully stocked and ready to go.
Also, these are a great option if you need a mobile display and your budget doesn’t allow display stands with wheels.
An off-fixture display unit is simply an FSDU or point-of-sale stand that stands alone apart from the permanent display fixtures in the retail outlet, e.g. as aisle end stands, fill-in stands, display units for retail, or stand-alone foyer displays and lobby displays.
These are a great way to get access to your goods in major retailers, as competition for existing shelf space is high, but major retailers like Tesco, Asda, Boots, and Debenhams welcome any extra selling space you can offer them! Of course, your brand enjoys more exposure as well.
What Is A Dump Bin?
The rather unglamorous term ‘dump bin‘ is widely used to refer to an FSDU display stand that holds brochures or catalogues or products. It certainly has nothing to do with a conventional bin!
These are typically high-capacity units displaying a stack of promotional literature in shops, garden centres and trade shows.
Dump bins in the POS sense are not the same as literature display units, where smaller quantities of brochures are displayed in a more upright position.
Product dump bins are large fully-printed display boxes containing the product for sale.
What Are POP And POS Display Stands?
POP stands for point-of purchase and POS for point-of-sale display stands; these terms tend to refer to FSDU displays that hold products for sale and are usually positioned near the checkout areas and are just another term for display units for retail.
Tablet Stand with interactive screen and stable baseFSDU with shelf dividers and product display holesPictorial self-assembly instructions for flat-packed FSDU display standProduct dump bin display for bike racksGarden Centre FSDU exampleSloping shelf cardboard display standOsram Florescent LED Tubes cardboard display unitTall thin brochure display unit
What Is A Mop Tray?
A mop tray is a clear plastic tray that fits underneath an FSDU or floor-standing point-of-sale item to protect it from rising damp (and the cleaner’s mops)!
Normally only around 5cm high, occasionally higher mop-trays are recommended, particularly in environments where there are animals, such as vets waiting rooms or pet shops, to protect from other fluids!
What Is A Euro-Hook?
A euro-hook is a standard-sized 2-prong metal hook that loops around at the end, designed to take products with the standard ‘Euro-slot’ hole often found in pegboard displays.
The term sometimes refers to any kind of display prong that products hang from. These work well on FSDUs. These are also widely used in general display fixtures in retail environments.
What Are Shelf Edge Pricing Strips?
Typically a clear plastic strip is designed to contain SEL (shelf edge labels) displaying pricing and product details. The labels can easily be removed and replaced to allow short-term promotions and ‘Promotional SEL’ (Promotional Shelf Edge Labels). Fixed retail shelves often have these, as well as FSDUs.
You can see a video of an FSDU point of sales display that we completed for BASF chemicals below:
