Rapid Retail Graphics Pricing Guide: What $6 Per Square Foot Includes for Mall Projects

You have a lease signed, a handover date on the calendar, and a hoarding wall that needs to go up before the store opens. The first question you ask any vendor is the same: what does this cost?

Most hoarding vendors won't answer that until you've had a discovery call, shared drawings, and waited two or three days for a quote. Rapid Retail Graphics publishes a price. Around $6 per square foot, inclusive of print and standard installation. That figure is approximate — final pricing is confirmed after reviewing site photos and drawings — but it gives you a real number to work with before you've committed any time.

This guide breaks down exactly what that rate covers, what variables move the number, and how to use it to build a project budget.

What the $6 Per Square Foot Rate Includes

The rate is not a print-only figure. It covers the full scope from site survey to installed panels.

Site Survey and Measurements

Before production starts, the team conducts a site survey to capture accurate panel dimensions, substrate attachment points, and any structural constraints specific to your mall location. This matters because hoarding walls are rarely the dimensions shown on the lease drawing. Columns, sprinkler drops, and fire exit clearances all affect the actual panel layout.

Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons panels arrive on-site and don't fit. The survey eliminates that risk.

Artwork Templating and Adaptation

Existing brand files get adapted to the hoarding panel layout — not just scaled and dropped in. Panel joints, bleed zones, and viewing angles at retail corridor distances all affect how artwork reads on the wall. That templating work is included in the $6 rate.

If you don't have files ready, artwork can be built from your brand guidelines. Either way, the output goes through landlord review before production starts.

Large-Format Print Production

Panels are produced at large format with durable, cleanable finishes. The substrate holds up through the fit-out period — which in an active mall means foot traffic, cleaning crews, and the occasional trolley impact. Print quality is matched to the viewing distances typical of mall corridors, not trade show booths.

Mall Operations Coordination and After-Hours Installation

This is the component most print-only vendors don't include and can't provide. Installation in an active mall requires coordination with mall operations and security: approved access windows, after-hours scheduling, and compliance with the specific requirements of the property.

At Simon, Cadillac Fairview, Oxford, or Ivanhoe Cambridge properties, the installation window is not flexible. The team coordinates directly with the property to book the window, confirm access, and execute outside trading hours. That coordination is part of the service — not an add-on.

What Moves the Price

The $6 per square foot figure is the starting point for standard projects. Several variables affect where your project lands.

• Total square footage. Larger walls don't automatically produce a lower per-square-foot rate, but project economics shift at scale. A 200-square-foot run in a single location and a 2,000-square-foot multi-panel installation across a flagship storefront are different scopes. Typical project budgets run $5,000 to $30,000.
• Rush timelines. Standard turnaround is 1 to 5 business days from initial contact. Rush options are available when timelines compress further, and that affects pricing. Rush availability isn't guaranteed on every project — it depends on current production capacity and the specific market.
• Site complexity. A straight hoarding run on a standard lease line is the simplest case. Curved walls, multi-level installations, or sites with significant structural obstructions require more templating and installation time.
• Multi-location scope. For national rollouts across multiple mall locations, pricing is discussed as part of the rollout program rather than on a per-site basis. Managing regional print shops market by market creates coordination risk; a single vendor with a published rate structure removes that variable. The multi-location hoarding rollout program is designed specifically for this scenario.

How This Compares to the Rest of the Market

Most hoarding vendors don't publish pricing at all. You call, describe the project, wait for a quote, and then find out whether the number works for your budget. That process takes time you typically don't have when the fit-out clock is running.

SpeedPro operates as a franchise network with nationwide presence. Industry estimates for their work range from $3 to $15 per square foot, but that range reflects the franchise structure — pricing varies by location, and there's no standardized project management for construction timelines. You may get print. Installation and mall coordination are a separate conversation, if they're available at all. A detailed breakdown of how the two services compare is in the Rapid Retail Graphics vs. SpeedPro comparison.

AmGraph Retail is another point of comparison for mall hoarding work. The Rapid Retail Graphics vs. AmGraph Retail breakdown covers scope differences in detail.

The published $6 per square foot rate is a differentiator in this category. It lets you build a preliminary budget, get internal approval, and start the vendor process without a call first.

How to Use the Estimate Calculator

The instant estimate calculator takes your approximate square footage and returns a ballpark figure — no form submission, no discovery call. That shortens your vendor approval cycle before you've committed any time.

The output is a preliminary number. Final pricing is confirmed after the team reviews site photos and drawings, because panel dimensions, substrate requirements, and installation complexity all affect the final scope. But it gives you a defensible number for internal budget conversations.

What You Need to Get an Accurate Quote

To move from the estimate calculator to a confirmed quote, you need:

• Site photos — Current state of the hoarding wall location, including any structural elements that affect panel placement.
• Lease drawings or mall-provided dimensions — Even approximate dimensions help; the site survey confirms exact measurements.
• Your opening date — This determines whether standard lead time works or whether a rush option is needed.
• Brand files or campaign creative — Existing files are adapted to the panel layout; if files aren't ready, that's a conversation to have early, not the week before install.

You don't need all of these to start. Site photos and an opening date are enough to get a qualified response on feasibility and timeline. More detail on assembling a brief is in the guide to what a hoarding site survey covers.

Pricing for Multi-Location Rollouts

If you're managing hoarding across multiple mall locations — a national chain opening in several markets simultaneously, or a phased rollout across a portfolio — per-site pricing doesn't capture the full picture.

The coordination risk on a multi-location program is real. Different regional vendors, inconsistent print quality, separate installation crews, and no single point of contact for landlord approvals across Cadillac Fairview, Oxford, and Simon properties in the same quarter. That falls to you to manage unless one vendor owns the full program.

For rollout programs, pricing and timelines are scoped as a program rather than a collection of individual projects. More detail on how that works is in the 2026 pricing and turnaround overview.

The Bottom Line on the $6 Rate

The $6 per square foot figure is not a teaser rate for print-only work. It covers site survey, artwork adaptation, large-format print production, mall operations coordination, and after-hours installation. The final number is confirmed after reviewing your site — but it's a real starting point, not a placeholder.

For most standard mall hoarding projects, the total budget falls between $5,000 and $30,000. You can get an instant estimate without a call, which gives you a number to work with before you've put any time into the vendor process.

Frequently Asked Questions