Pricing guide
What POP displays really cost, from the people who build them
A POP display is part print job, part engineered structure, part logistics program, which is why the quotes are hard to compare. We design, print, and build displays in our own Montreal plant, so we can explain exactly what moves a display quote up or down, and what to send us for a real number within one business day.
What moves the price
1.Display type and footprint
Counter, floor, or pallet: the type sets the baseline. A counter unit uses a fraction of the board of a floor tower and has a simpler structure, so it costs less to build. A floor display adds shelves, a base, and a header; a pallet display adds a deck and skirt engineered to carry a full pallet of product. The bigger the footprint, the more board, cutting, and assembly time you're buying.
2.Structural complexity and the load it holds
A display that holds bags of chips is not engineered like one that holds jars of sauce. Heavier product demands stronger flute, double-wall board, or internal supports, and every shelf that carries real weight has to be designed and tested so it doesn't sag or tip mid-campaign. The heavier and more awkward the product, the more structure you're paying for, and that's money well spent: a collapsed display costs more than any of it.
3.Quantity: the rollout math
Structural design, tooling, and press setup are fixed costs spread across your run. A program for 300 stores costs far less per display than one for 20, because the same one-time work divides over many more units. This is why the smart buyers price the whole retail network as one program instead of ordering region by region and paying the setup again each time.
4.Print coverage and finishes
A kraft display with a printed header sits at one end of the scale; full-coverage graphics on every panel with a high-impact coating sits at the other. Every printed face adds press time, and rich coverage and coatings add material and passes. They also do the selling from across the aisle, so the real question is which panels shoppers actually see and which ones you're decorating out of habit.
5.Engineering and tooling: one-time, then reusable
A new structure needs structural design, a physical prototype, and a cutting die: one-time costs concentrated in the first order. Reorders and new campaigns on the same platform reuse all of it, with only new graphics to produce. That's why the second wave of a display program costs less than the first, and why adapting a proven structure is cheaper than designing from a blank page.
6.Fulfillment: flat-pack, pre-assembled, or kitted
How the display ships is a real line on the quote. Flat-packed units cost far less to freight and store because you're not paying to ship air; pre-assembled or pre-loaded units cost more to move but save store labour. Kitting and store-direct or DC distribution add handling that should be planned into the price from the start, not discovered after the promo is booked.
7.Who you buy from
A broker or agency resells a manufacturer's display with a margin on top, and they can't engineer or test anything themselves. Buying direct from the plant that designs, prints, and builds the unit removes that layer. It's the one cost factor that has nothing to do with your display, and you control it completely.
How to pay less, honestly
Adapt a proven structural platform
Start from a structure that has already survived retail. Adapting a tested platform to your product and brand skips a chunk of engineering and prototyping, and it gets to stores faster. Save the fully custom build for when the product truly demands it.
Ship flat-packed
If your store teams can spare a few minutes of tool-free setup, flat-packing slashes freight and storage. A well-engineered flat display still sets up fast and stands straight; you just stop paying to truck empty space across the country.
Plan the whole network at once
Price every region and every wave as one program. You pay the engineering and tooling once, hit better quantity tiers, and every store gets an identical, colour-matched unit. Ask us to quote the full rollout and a smaller first wave so you can see both numbers.
Buy direct from the manufacturer
No broker margin, no agency handling fee. You also get the engineers, the presses, and the fulfillment under one roof, so the display that won the review is the display that shows up in every store.
The bottom line
POP display pricing comes down to display type, structure and load, quantity, print and finishes, one-time engineering and tooling, fulfillment, and who you buy from. Buying direct from a manufacturer like Accent POP in Montreal removes the broker margin, and a complete spec (product, stores, in-store date) gets you a real, itemized price within one business day.
For an accurate quote in one business day
Include these in your request and we'll come back with a real number, not a vague range.
- Your product's dimensions and weight, and how many units the display should hold
- The display type if you know it (counter, floor, pallet), or the placement in store and we'll propose one
- How many stores or displays, plus any future waves worth pricing as tiers
- Artwork status and any finishes you're considering
- Flat-packed or pre-loaded, shipping to stores or to your DC, and your in-store date
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a custom POP display cost?
- It depends on the display type, the structure and the load it must hold, the quantity, the print coverage, and how it ships, which is why serious manufacturers quote per program. What we can promise: you see the manufacturer's price with no broker margin, and you get it within one business day of sending your specs.
- Why does the first order cost more than reorders?
- The first order carries the one-time costs: structural design, prototyping, and the cutting die. Reorders on the same platform reuse all of it, so the second wave of a program is cheaper than the first. Plan for that when you compare a first-order quote to a competitor's reorder price.
- Is a counter display cheaper than a floor display?
- Usually yes: less board, a simpler structure, and cheaper freight. But the right type is the one that fits the placement you've negotiated with the retailer. Tell us where the display will live and we'll quote the options honestly.
- Does flat-pack shipping really save money?
- Yes. Freight and warehousing are priced on volume, and an assembled display is mostly air. Flat-packing trades a few minutes of tool-free store setup for a real cut in shipping and storage, and for most rollouts that trade is worth it.
- Can US brands order displays in US dollars?
- Yes. We price in Canadian dollars, which a favourable exchange rate makes attractive for a US budget, and we accept payment in USD. Our Montreal plant is about an hour from the US border, and many displays cross duty-free or at low duty under CUSMA.
Start your project
Send your specs and get a manufacturer-direct price, itemized line by line, within one business day.