How digital signage has been able to rebound from Covid-19 with a better future

The digital signage market was highly affected when the pandemic first hit, and more and more people resort to staying indoors and shopping online. However, it has been able to rebound quickly, and in fact the future for digital signage looks very promising.

According to statistics, two years after the US economy experienced a blow as a result of Covid-19, the digital signage industry is in a much better stage and continues to grow. A 6.4% rise in annual growth rate is expected from 2022 to 2031, particularly if the retail sector continues its rebound after the pandemic. Supermarkets for example are increasing their usage of digital signage and it is expected that sales of industry products will soon constitute 85% of sales in North America.

In the UK, there is a focus on outdoor digital advertising, which will in turn push that market towards a 2% year-on-year growth. In India as well, the retail market is expected to continuously rise, which will probably make India the leading digital signage hub in all of South Asia. China should also be mentioned – their growing retail industry will position the country as the biggest digital signage market in East Asia.

According to industry experts, we briefly analyze the changes in the digital signage market since the pandemic came about.

How was the industry affected?

When the economic recession following Covid-19 effected digital advertising industries in 2020, advertisers restricted their investments into public facing advertising channels. Most of the entire world was indoors and there was no reason for retailers to spend on indoor and outdoor digital signage.

How did it bounce back?

At the same time when people were locked up in their homes, businesses were also not spending their advertising budget. As soon as things started opening up, people wanted to go out and about, and advertisers had the necessary funds to spend on advertising. As a result, the digital outdoor advertising industry bounced back rather quickly.

Have there been discoveries of new ways to use digital signage?

QR codes have become popular again, opening up new opportunities for businesses and advertisers to connect with their target market using the display on their hands – smart phones. Window LED signs and outdoor digital kiosks are widely used exterior LED signs as people are going outside more now. Software applications and other types of non-touch screens have become largely popular strategies for marketing via digital outdoor advertising and display technologies.

How is the industry enjoying strong sales?

The digital signage industry is fueling innovations in a variety of fields such as exterior technologies and creative interactive technologies as this is what is called for in the aftermath of Covid-19 and the demands for being able to refresh content quickly.

What is the biggest trend in the LED display market moving forward?

We saw a move from large LCD displays to direct view LED displays. With continuous innovations, LED pitches are getting finer and finer, and there is a shift in focus towards better outdoor display technologies.