How to maximize product visibility, storytelling, and space using nesting risers, blocks, and modular display elements.

Flat tables and boring displays don’t sell products.

Walk into a top retailer, and you’ll see proven merchandising techniques put to work: playing with height, layering depth, and mixing materials, textures, and colours.

All strategies designed to create visual interest, guide the eye, and signal product value.

From nesting tables and cubes to pedestals and plinths, these display elements help retailers do more with the space they already have.

In this post, we’ve curated 28 retail display design ideas to inspire your next project and show how simple display elements can make a big impact.

Scroll down to explore ideas, organized by type, to spark inspiration across formats and budgets.

• Nesting Display Tables
• Pedestals & Plinths
• Wood Display Crates
• Acrylic Display Risers
• Display Blocks & Cubes

Nesting Display Tables

Nesting tables allow retail teams to create visual layers by introducing height and depth without committing to fixed fixtures, making them ideal for seasonal resets and short-term promotions.

Pedestals & Plinths

Plinths and pedestals borrow from gallery and museum design, using height and negative space to signal product importance and encourage shoppers to slow down and take a closer look.

Wood Display Crates

Decorative wooden crates bring warmth and texture, especially effective in grocery, bulk food, and home goods, where durability and a rustic charm matter.

Acrylic Display Risers

Acrylic risers elevate products without competing for attention. Ideal for jewelry, cosmetics, electronics, and pharma, they enhance lighting and deliver a clean, modern look and feel.

Display Blocks & Cubes

Cubes and blocks introduce strong geometry and visual heft, helping retailers create clear focal points for hero products, launch displays, or front-of-store promotions.

Materials Matter: Choosing the Right Display for the Job

While display risers, pedestals, and plinths come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, they’re typically built from three core materials: wood, acrylic, and metal.

Each material brings a different set of advantages when it comes to durability, aesthetics, maintenance, and how wear shows over time.

Understanding these differences helps retail teams choose display elements that not only look right but also perform well in real-world environments.

Common Materials Used Across Display Types

• Wood / MDF / Plywood – Flexible, strong, and easy to customize, with natural or painted finishes.

• Metal (mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, bronze) – Allows for thin profiles and high structural integrity, with finishes that are highly scratch-resistant or designed to develop patina over time.

• Acrylic – Clear or coloured acrylic material that minimizes visual competition with products, interacts well with lighting, and supports clean, modern presentations – though surface scratches may be  more visible.

Hybrid – Combinations of materials and finishes can be used to balance aesthetics, durability, cost, and maintenance.

This is how gondola shelving becomes an integral part of a company’s retail strategy.

Inspired by these display ideas?

At CBSF, we bring retail strategies to life. Whether you’re refreshing a single location or rolling out a national program, the right displays can dramatically change how products are seen…and sold.

Our team helps retailers source and design display risers, pedestals, and modular elements that fit the product, the space, and the brand.

Get in touch to discuss your project.