Method Of Shipping and Displaying Products For Sale To Consumers And Associated Product Display

Abstract

A pallet display with a plurality of product display sides, and preferably more than one product display side along a merchandising side of a display pallet or display pallet footprint. Products thus can be displayed adjacent one another but not aligned, thereby increasing the number of planogrammable areas. The pallet display may be modular so that the sections can be disassembled and fitted on half a shipping pallet, allowing two pallet displays to ship on a single shipping pallet. Portions of the display may also be disassembled and used as a separate and preferably different type of product display, such as a power wing or side wing. The display may be symmetrical about a diagonal of a display pallet, such that only one essentially triangular pallet display may be formed to fit within a triangular footprint.

1 . A pallet display comprising:
 a plurality of independently formed product display units, each product display unit comprising a vertically extending tray having a plurality of product display levels vertically spaced from one another; and   a pallet display base shaped and configured to receive and to position said plurality of product display units with respect to one another to form an assembled pallet display fitting within a predetermined footprint with the boundaries of the predetermined footprint circumscribing said assembled pallet display;   wherein:   said plurality of independently formed product display units are dimensioned to be packed together, loaded with products on said product display levels, to fit within a fraction of the predetermined footprint.   
     
     
         2 . A pallet display as in  claim 1 , wherein said plurality of product display units are dimensioned to be packed together to fit within half the area of a predetermined shipping-pallet-sized footprint. 
     
     
         3 . A pallet display as in  claim 2 , wherein said plurality of product display units are dimensioned to be packed together with a pallet display base and pallet filler materials to fit within half the area of a predetermined shipping-pallet-sized footprint. 
     
     
         4 . A pallet display as in  claim 1 , wherein:
 each said product display unit has a depth extending in a first direction and a width extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to said first direction; and   the predetermined footprint is a right quadrilateral with a first dimension no less than three times said product display depth, and a second dimension no less than the sum of said product display depth and three times said product display width.   
     
     
         5 - 7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . A pallet display having a first merchandising side and a second merchandising side adjacent and transverse to said first merchandising side, said pallet display comprising:
 two product display sides facing toward each other and extending along and facing said first merchandising side; and   two product display sides facing toward each other and extending along and facing said second merchandising side;   wherein:   at least one of said product display sides extending along said first merchandising side extends in a direction transverse to said first merchandising side; and   at least one of said product display sides comprises a plurality of vertically spaced display trays.   
     
     
         9 . A pallet display as in  claim 8 , wherein at least one of said product display sides extending along said second merchandising side extends in a direction transverse to said second merchandising side. 
     
     
         10 . A pallet display as in  claim 8 , wherein each product display side is formed by a product display unit having a vertically extending tray with a plurality of product display levels vertically spaced from one another. 
     
     
         11 . A pallet display as in  claim 10 , wherein said product display levels of at least one of said product display units have aligned and coplanar front edges. 
     
     
         12 . A pallet display as in  claim 11 , wherein all product display levels of all said product display units have aligned and coplanar front edges. 
     
     
         13 . A pallet display as in  claim 10 , wherein two product display units have a back wall, said back walls of said two product display units backing against each other. 
     
     
         14 . A pallet display as in  claim 13 , wherein said two product display units having back walls backing against each other extend along a diagonal of said pallet display. 
     
     
         15 . A pallet display as in  claim 8 , wherein:
 said merchandising sides are substantially perpendicular to each other and meet at a corner; and   said pallet display comprises at least one product display side extending across the corner at which said merchandising sides meet.   
     
     
         16 . A method of shipping a pallet display in a predetermined shipping pallet footprint area and assembling said pallet display in a predetermined display pallet footprint area greater than said predetermined shipping pallet footprint area, said method comprising:
 packing into a space of half the predetermined shipping pallet footprint a plurality of product display units each having a monolithic vertically extending tray with a plurality of product display levels vertically spaced from one another; and   unpacking said plurality of product display units and arranging said plurality of product display units in said predetermined display pallet footprint area.   
     
     
         17 . A method as in  claim 16 , wherein at least two product display units have a plurality of product display levels vertically spaced from one another with aligned and coplanar front edges along a front face of the product display unit, said method further comprising arranging said at least two product display units adjacent each other with their front faces unaligned with respect to each other. 
     
     
         18 . A method as in  claim 16 , further comprising loading each product display unit with products before packing said plurality of product display units into a space of half the predetermined shipping pallet footprint. 
     
     
         19 . A triangular pallet display having a first merchandising side, a second merchandising side perpendicular to said first merchandising side, and a non-merchandising side extending between and at an acute angle with respect to said first and second merchandising sides, wherein:
 products are displayed along only said first and second merchandising sides such that upon placement of said pallet display on a quadrilateral pallet footprint, products are displayed on only one side of the right quadrilateral pallet diagonal and no products are displayed along the other side of the right quadrilateral pallet footprint diagonal.   
     
     
         20 . A pallet display as in  claim 19 , wherein said triangular pallet display comprises at least one product display side extending along and transverse to one of said merchandising sides. 
     
     
         21 . A pallet display as in  claim 8 , wherein:
 said first and second merchandising sides are greater than 180 degrees apart; and   said two product display sides of each of said first and second merchandising sides are less than 180 degrees apart.