Anyone who has been out shopping anywhere in the past 20 years has noticed the use of modern synthetic materials to make display cases, clothing hangers, and other paraphernalia that’s used to make eye-catching tableaux to attract customer’s attention. It sometimes seems to me that the translucent plastic shelves supporting the store’s wares actually help put the merchandise in the best possible light. It’s the near invisibility of the hangers and shelving that does the trick because it doesn’t detract from the merchandise by competing for the shopper’s attention.
I’ve often wondered which merchants first began to use acrylic displays in their stores instead of old fashioned wooden or metal shelving. These days the clean look of displays like this are associated with large retail chains like Target and all of those specialty stores that you see in large shopping centers. No doubt there are many reasons for the change to plastic and acrylic materials. Aside from the aesthetic reasons mentioned above, there are practical ones. Acrylic is lightweight, inexpensive, and cheaply manufactured.
Another practical advantage of acrylic materials used for display purposes is that they can be molded in a variety of shapes, and thus used for many different purposes. This is no doubt the reason that you can find brochure holders made of acrylic at roadside stops, tourist attractions, and visitor information centers across the country, and no doubt, around the world as well. The attractiveness, utility, and durability of this material is truly a wonder.