Digital Signage: Opportunities in retail

Digital signage has become a powerful communication channel that allows reaching customers in a quick and effective way. Therefore, before considering the opportunities for digital signage, it is essential to understand different subjects. The importance of the communication strategy, the quality and consistency of the contents, and the kind of engagement with customers that wants to be achieved.

Digital Signage: Communication strategy

As a communication tool in the point of sale, digital signage functionalities can translate into several brand strategies:

• It is a corporate brand channel, with the main purpose of informing clients.
• It also works as a sales channel. Where the main goal is to inform you about special offers and promotions of products or services, influencing customers buying decisions.
• Additionally, entertainment content can be added, drawing the attention of the customers and allowing for some space between brand messages.
• Finally, interactive content allows for an interaction between the company and its customers. Informing about products and services, discovering the brand or generating participation in social networks.

Each of these strategies, or a combination of them, allow to develop a complete communication strategy in the point of sale to influence the customer’s buying process. According to the 2014 Mass Merchants Study Results by POPAI, 82% of buying decisions are taken in the point of sale. For this reason, installing digital signage at the point of sale in order to improve the shopping experience, increase customer loyalty towards the brand. So the time spent at the point of sale will result, most of the times, in a higher amount of sales.

Apart from the communication-related opportunities of digital signage, there are also a number of advantages over traditional communication tools, such as static posters. Without wanting to elaborate on a complete list, some important advantages are: the flexibility to update the contents remotely, being able to have a close monitorization of the contents displayed. Or the possibility to segment the target, adapting the contents to demographic interests, locations or languages. Another very important advantage is the possibility to keep the clients updated instantly, informing about breaking news or any content of their interest.

Digital signage in Retail

Digital signage is a great opportunity to attract clients in the retail and boost sales while projecting a modern brand image adapted to new technologies.