How to Best Use Digital Signage in a Retail Business

Over ninety per cent of retailers say they have seen an upturn in sales following the implementation of a digital signage strategy in their shops, according to a recent survey. Of course, setting up digital media in shops isn’t a sure-fire guarantee of commercial success because it very much depends on how you use it. What are the best ways of utilising digital signage within retail outlets today? Read on to find out.

Promote Top-Selling Products

Perhaps the most straightforward use of digital signage in retail settings is to highlight the products that customers will be most interested in. Yes, digital signage for retail in various industries will have to advertise a wide range of products, ranging from automobile components to the latest trends in fashion found on the main shopping streets. That said, the basic idea is the same. Display images of your top-selling lines, just as you might on a web page, with a high-quality photo of the product and minimal amounts of text. This approach is all about catching the eye and garnering attention rather than providing lots of supporting sales material. Customers will not want to be bombarded with product specifications or even pricing. That said, if you know the product is priced competitively, then why not make a song a dance of it?

The reverse approach to promoting your biggest sellers is to use digital signage to highlight lesser-known products. If your top-selling items are displayed on a carousel of slides alongside slower-moving stock, then you could get the best of both worlds and see more sales activities in both areas. Again, the key is not to oversell your products but to draw attention to them in parts of the shop where people will be waiting. For example, customer service desks, till queues and changing rooms are all good environments to install sales-promoting digital signage screens.

Provide In-Store Information to Support Workers

Digital signage can support your other signage displays to a significant extent. Although driving sales may be the primary concern of many shop owners, it is worth noting that retail managers also have other responsibilities to their customers. Consequently, using your digital signs to help with wayfinding and navigation can be a big help to customers and staff alike. This is especially so in larger department stores, for instance, where it may not be easy to locate the products customers are looking for.

Another good tip is to use signage to make announcements such as when the store will be closing and to support your in-store safety systems. If the shop needs to be evacuated, for example, then turning your signage to a setting whereby the nearest emergency exit will be displayed could save time in getting everybody out. Other information it can be useful to display includes holiday closing times and the dates of any upcoming sales promotions you may be planning.

Improve Window Displays

In-store digital signage isn’t just for the parts of the shop customers see. You can also deploy it to successfully capture the imaginations of passers-by. Even rather drab window displays can be refreshed and made much more eye-catching if digital signage is installed. Digital signage for retail window dressing is best used as a moving backdrop that adds depth to the display in front of it. Nevertheless, you can also use it for straightforward sales promotion purposes and to display useful information, such as when the store opens, as well as to make your window displays more exciting.

Retail Digital Signage in Summary

Retail customers are more screen and tech-savvy than ever before. Given that nearly every in-store customer will also have made countless purchases online, using screens to sell your wares helps to blur the lines between brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce. As retailers face stiffer competition from online sellers these days, making use of screens to promote a hybrid brand that offers easy-to-access product information alongside an in-person buying experience makes a great deal of sense.