What are the Benefits of Digital Signage Screens in Retail?

As a retailer, I have often relied on traditional marketing strategies to encourage shoppers to stop by my store and engage with my brand. In fact, retailers spend a lot on television commercials, print media advertisements, and targeted web-based ads to attract shoppers into their stores. Once shoppers are in your store, the department store digital signage takes over and you engage them with promotional and advertising content.

Digital signage screens are a great way to showcase and promote your products. Take for example clothing and luxury goods retailers who are always looking for new ways of showing the latest trends.

Products that appear on digital signage screens encourage shoppers to look for a physical product inside the store. Shoppers also spend more when they are shown products they were not expecting, which increases average transactions. Digital screens in retail stores are also great for advertising services and promotions.

Using the QL Mobile app, store staff can use their smartphones to control what’s shown on a store’s screens. They can publish instant messages and bring up on-demand content to assist shoppers in their purchase decisions.

Retail digital signage helps create an inviting and exciting environment for shoppers. Every retail brand benefits from in-store video and dynamic content. It’s not only about promoting products, it’s about creating an appealing environment and increasing brand awareness.

Using QL Mobile, staff can use their department store digital signage screens to service customers and sell more products. Imagine a sales person who needs to display information about an out of stock item to a shopper. With QL Mobile, store staff use their smartphone or tablet to search for content that describes the product. Then they can show the content on any of the store’s digital signage screens. This is also very useful for automobile dealerships who wish to promote vehicles they don’t necessarily stock.

Retail stores that deal with multiple brands can sell advertising space using their retail signage software to generate additional revenue. Manufacturers already engage with retailers through co-op programs so this opens up new promotional opportunities. Retailers can sell ad space on their department store digital signage network.

QL features an ad campaign module for selling and managing advertising space. Retailers can use this feature to manage ad buys and to ensure ad impression targets are met. When used with Navori Labs’ AQUAJI marketing analytics software, retailers can generate detailed reports that include key performance indicators, like the number of ad impressions by store or by screen. They can also analyze more detailed information, such as the number of shoppers who looked at each ad and the audience’s demographic profile.

The size of your digital signage screens should vary according to their distance from the viewer. For example, a sales counter could deploy a digital tablet since the screen is very close to shoppers.

For longer distances, consider using an LCD screen with a brightness of 500 nits. These should be sufficient when installed at a distance of 20 feet or less from viewers.

Use LED screens when you want to show content from further away. These screens are very bright so they are easy to see from a distance. You can also order LED screens in non-standard shapes and they can cover large areas.

When choosing your digital signage software, always consider solutions that work with a wide range of screen types and sizes. Products like QL support every type of screen and configuration, which is important because every location poses its own unique architectural challenges.

Too often we see locations with blacked-out screens or where screens are showing error messages instead of their scheduled content. These failures hurt your brand and impact your customer’s experience. It’s why you should always select a professional grade software that includes maintenance and technical support services.

Consider playback performance. Pay attention to the transitions between each media item as it is shown on screen.

There should be no hesitation and transitions should be impeccable. Next time you’re in a store look at their digital screens, you may notice a black frame for a second or two on every transition. On average, these black frames will be shown 8,000 times per day. That’s a total of 4 hours and 44 minutes of black frames every day.

A professional digital signage software, like QL produces imperceptible content transitions. It’s what we call “broadcast quality” playback. That’s what you should expect from a professional grade software.

Retail digital signage screens are often integrated in the décor, which complicates maintenance and screen replacement. Remember that screen manufacturer guarantees don’t cover screen removal or labor costs. It’s why you should consider external media player devices, Like Navori Labs’ StiX 3700. These small devices are easy to replace without having to remove the display from its mount.

If you’re operating on a tight budget and the screen is easily accessible, consider a SoC (System-on-Chip) screen. These products combine the screen and the media player hardware in a single unit. SoC screens are inexpensive and commercial versions are quite reliable making them ideal for retail signage use.

Regardless of the hardware device you choose, consider QL as your retail digital signage platform of choice. QL supports every hardware platform, media player type and screen brand.