A Special Advertising Supplement to Shopping Center World

The Retail signature As the bar is raised in retail sign design and fabrication, an SCW study illuminates signage as a trusted beacon for retail image and personality. By Will Pollock If a store's exterior is its identity envelope, then signage could be termed the glue that seals. In earlier years, a store's sign might often have been an afterthought in store planning - a final detail in a much more involved interior design and build-out plan. But in recent memory, signage is as much a defining stamp of brand personality as it is a simple, back-lit wayfinding guide. Which category best describes your store's merchandise offerings?

This sign, located at Grapevine Mills in Grapevine, Texas, shows the tremendous design strides that exterior, freestanding signage has undergone since Federal Sign began in 1901. (Photo courtesy of Federal Sign)

Which category best describes your store's merchandise offerings?

A recent Shopping Center World study surveyed 135 retails and found that signage has in fact emerged as a key component of retailers' overall store needs. The survey, aimed at gauging these retailers' signage purchasing choices - as well as their view of what impact signage has in overall business operation - was direct-mailed to 600 local, regional and national retailers.

Based on multiple-answer questions posed to the retailer group, the survey found that the majority of respondents operate stores in the Northeast, Midwest and/or Southeast - with 18.5% reporting international locations. An overwhelming majority, more than 91%, reported that they are a multi-store retail chain, with a median number of stores of 107. Lastly, the majority of survey respondents reported freestanding, regional-mall or neighborhood-center operations, garnering 54./%, 52.6% and 44.4%, respectively.