The Benefits of Retail Digital Signage

Eight out of 10 consumers have entered a store because of a digital sign catching their eye. With impressive engagement statistics like this, there's no denying that digital signage is the future of retail marketing. Yet, most retailers don’t know exactly how digital signage can benefit their store locations.

To begin, retailers should consider the goals of using signage in general. Do you use signs to display promotional information? Social media handles? Even store hours? The goals of traditional and digital signs will be the same, but each retailer's specific goal will change the way digital signage will ultimately benefit the brand.

But what are some of these specific goals?

One is to turn window shoppers into in-store foot traffic. Digital signage can be used in window displays to promote sales or special product features to entice consumers to walk into a store. The biggest advantage of digital over traditional signage is the incorporation of movement. Moving images and graphics are more likely to catch window shoppers’ eyes and draw them in — visually and physically.

Another goal is to create an elevated brand perception. Signage can be used to show how a product connects to a certain lifestyle that consumers aspire to — e.g., a poster in-store showing a popular celebrity wearing a brand’s products. Digital signage can escalate this further by not only showing who is using a brand's products, but by showing how they use them. Digital signage can include slideshows that present videos of celebrities talking about a brand, customer reviews, and even social media walls showing how other customers feel about the brand. Overall, consumers will have a higher brand perception and awareness from digital signage.

Finally, digital signage goals can extend to internal benefits as well. For retailers using digital signage management systems, scheduling content and changing out ads is as easy as the click of a button. For digital signage systems that use cloud technology, marketers don't have to worry about physically changing out digital signage through USBs or other hardware. All their content is controlled through a dashboard over Wi-Fi or other internet access. This saves marketing teams time as well as the costs of implementing new in-store campaigns.

Overall, the benefits of digital signage are growing rapidly as more technology emerges. An investment in digital signage software is worthwhile for retailers looking to build customer engagement and elevate brand perception. For retailers, digital signage is the only signage of the future.

Rebecca Dowden is the director of marketing at CrownTV, a digital signage solutions provider.