Cover up?

POS tools in Hungarian stores are far inferior to those used in Western European stores. The question is: why? Manufacturers and their agencies complain that quality is of secondary importance in Hungary, only price matters and this is reflected in POS advertising as well. As a result of price sensitivity, POS tools are made to be cost effective instead of attractive, which is not a very logical thing to do. POS budgets are only a small fraction of advertising budgets in general. While the costs of packaging and in-store placement can reach 40 per cent in the case of a French product, this is never more than 10-15 per cent in Hungary. The same goes for promotional islands: there is no money for them in Hungary. Many companies use cheap POS tools, which are not very attractive or durable. Store management often complains about these, arguing that these do not promote sales, only damage the image of the store. However, the alternative they usually offer is no better or more attractive, especially when the store in question is not a discount.