What is the difference between point of sale and point of purchase?
A common misconception is that point of purchase refers only to the space within the store where the transfer of money for the goods occurs, such as the checkout. Although really, point of purchase can be broader than this and be considered the whole shopping environment.
The actual checkout area is usually referred to as the “point of sale,” because it is at this point that the buyer has given over their money and completed the sale. The terms get used interchangeably, but think of point of sale as a more narrow way to look at point of purchase. By these definitions, point of purchase marketing can be understood as whatever marketing or merchandising materials your brand provides to its retailers in order to help sales of your product in the store, or whatever materials you include with your product to accompany it where it is displayed.
