What is POS material?
POS (point of sale) material is the branded items a brand places in an outlet to be seen at the moment of choice, such as signage, menus and table tents, tap handles and fonts, glassware, parasols, bar runners and branded furniture; DashLeads reads it from date-stamped public photos across 20M+ venues. In the trade it is also called POSM (point of sale materials) or visibility kit. The opportunity is seeing, outlet by outlet, where your branding stands and where a competitor's does.
The trusted intelligence layer for teams selling to Hospitality & Retail
Types of POSM
Looking for POS systems (EPOS), the checkout software restaurants use, such as Toast or Square? See which POS restaurants use.
Teams usually sort POSM by how long it stays, who owns it and where it sits: in-store point of sale material at the bar or counter, outdoor material such as parasols and A-boards, and pop-up kit for a launch or an event. Permanent items are often loaned under a supply agreement and remain the brand's property; temporary items support a promotion and disappear when it ends.
- Permanent: fonts and tap handles, back-bar units, fascia signs, branded furniture, parasols, coolers
- Semi-permanent: printed menus and drinks lists, glassware, ice buckets, chalkboards
- Temporary: posters, table tents, shelf wobblers, event banners and promotion kits
Share of all branded drinks material seen in public photos of London's bars and pubs and restaurants (outside the big chains), by type of object, weighted to all of London, 2026 data. Each venue type adds up to 100% (rounded). Visibility in photos, not sales.
POSM in one venue, type by type
One pub can carry eight types of POSM: the fascia sign, the parasol, a table talker, the fridge, the back-bar display, the beer font, the bar mat and the glassware. Each is read with its brand, so you can count by type as well as by brand.
How to measure it
POSM share (%) = branded items of your brand seen in a set of outlets / all branded items seen in the same outlets x 100
POSM presence (%) = outlets where at least one item of your brand is seen / outlets checked x 100
The first measures how much of the visible branding is yours; the second measures how many venues show you at all. Both depend on what can be seen: count only outlets with a recent look, from an audit or a dated photo, and treat an outlet you have not seen as unknown, not as a zero. Count by object type as well: a tap handle on the bar does a different job from a parasol in the garden.
Worked example
A rep checks 60 bars in one city that have a recent photo. Across them, 220 branded items are visible.
| Brand | Items seen | POSM share | Bars with an item | POSM presence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leading brand | 99 | 45% | 41 | 68% |
| Your brand | 66 | 30% | 30 | 50% |
| Third brand | 33 | 15% | 18 | 30% |
| Others | 22 | 10% | 15 | 25% |
Your brand is visible in half the bars but holds 30% of the branding. For your rep the list to work is the bars where the leading brand has tap handles and yours shows nothing, say 19 of them: a competitor's fixture on the bar usually means a supply agreement, and agreements have end dates worth asking about.
POS material (POSM) vs a POS system (EPOS)
In retail, POS also means the POS system (EPOS): the checkout software and its sales records, such as Toast or Square. Which POS system a restaurant runs is a different question. Point of sale data is the transaction record; POSM is the branding around the moment of choice. When a report says POS, check which one it means; what POS means sorts out the system, the outlet and the materials.
POSM is also narrower than a perfect store standard, which sets the visibility, range and price an outlet should show. POSM is the visibility part of that standard.
Seeing POSM without a visit
Checking visibility used to mean visiting. Dashmote's AI reads date-stamped public venue photos and shows the branded objects it detects, by brand and object type, with the evidence photo and its date, so you can filter for outlets that show a competitor's branding and none of yours. Photo reads are available in selected markets. Ask us about yours. An outlet with no recent public photo shows nothing, which is not the same as a zero.
See POSM detection and the outlet execution audit.
Frequently asked questions
What does POSM stand for?
POSM stands for point of sale materials: the branded signage, displays, menus, glassware and fixtures a brand places in an outlet.
Is POS material the same as a POS system?
No. POS material (POSM) is the branded kit a brand places in a venue, such as fonts, fridges, posters and menus; a POS system (EPOS) is the checkout software the venue takes payments on, such as Toast or Square. See which POS restaurants use.
Where does POSM sit in a London pub?
Mostly on the bar. In London's bars and pubs, the taps carry about 44% of the branded material seen in public photos and glassware 24%: together, about two thirds. In restaurants, glassware, signs, the terrace and the fridge matter more. See who owns the bar in London.
Who owns POSM in a bar?
Permanent items such as fonts, coolers and branded furniture are often loaned and remain the brand's or distributor's property under a supply agreement; temporary items such as posters and table tents are usually given to the venue.
How do you measure POSM compliance?
Compare what an outlet shows with what was agreed: the items, where they are placed and their condition, checked by an audit or a dated photo. Compliance is the share of agreed items found in place.
Does more POSM mean more sales?
Not on its own. POSM works when it supports a product the venue lists, at the moment of choice, such as a tap handle on a pouring tap or a menu feature for a serve the bar sells. Kit for a product the venue does not list is mostly decoration.
Can POSM be tracked without store visits?
Partly. Date-stamped public photos of a venue show the branded items in view, which covers many outlets without a visit, but only what a recent photo captured. Items out of view still need an audit.