The technology involved in today’s digital signage does exactly what a retail store needs to compete effectively and satisfy customer demands. Yet, businesses are continuously in search for ways to provide optimum customer experiences at their brick-and-mortar stores; similar to what e-commerce experiences provide.
What is the main incentive here?
Bring digital shopping to your showroom and thereby create an opportunity to collect demographic details about every consumer, know about buying histories of repeated consumers, and most importantly, identify what could be the up-selling and cross-selling products.
Till date, there isn’t any one technology that does all of the above. But retailers are realizing the importance of digital signage in achieving these goals.
Modern digital signage technology caters to interactive experiences and touching personal tastes and profiles of customers. There are advanced LED displays that can do both delivery of messages and also capture customer information at the same time. Digital signage is now defining the standards with which brick-and-mortar store communicates with its customers.
So what are these different digital signage strategies?
- Interactive LED screens can direct shoppers to the website of a particular brand that they are in search of. By providing further information of a particular product, stores are increasing the chances of convincing the customer to buy that brand.
- Gamification and other methods of engagement are helpful in encouraging shoppers to provide more personal information and buying preferences.
- LED displays are available at LED Craft Inc in several different sizes. From miniature shelf displays to massive LED screens for impressing customers, we have it all. Invest in a variety of these to place at different locations to serve different purposes. In-store kiosks can present pricing information and also help shoppers transport the products they purchase to another location.
- Media players are another category of digital signage and when combined with LED displays and networked with many servers they can provide useful videos, animations and information about products and services.
- Some LED signs come embedded with artificial intelligence technology for understanding consumer behavior better. For example, a tiny video can be built into the LED screen which will analyze a consumer as he/she reads the content. Analytical software can then depict information such as gender and general age of consumer. With this information, stores can target their messaging to precise demographic groups and identify which areas have high traffic so that product placements can be optimized.
- Digital signage also provides for a retailer’s concept of endless aisles. With LED screens placed on aisles, customers can stand in one place and view all the sizes and color choices of clothing in a certain category for example. With this facility, retailers don’t have to stock excessive inventories in every location.
These opportunities are all examples of how LED signs can help stores become more responsive towards customer needs.
- The example of how a customer can view all sizes and colors of a particular item on an LED screen can be further personalized by allowing the customer to digitally fit-on the item by uploading a picture of him/her and allowing the software to show how the selected item would look on him/her.
- Similarly, in furniture stores, customers can visualize how items would look in their homes.
- Shoe retailers can convince shoppers to remove their shoes and allow the system to scan their feet. The retailer can then provide custom fitting shoe services to the shopper.
As a result of these technologies, sales assistants now have more time to engage with the consumer and convince them to commit to a purchase rather than wasting time trying to find different sizes and colors for the client.
How do you make the correct choice for LED signage?
- Converse with the marketing department and identify most important business challenges.
- IT managers should decide how technology can be applied in a way in which the value delivered to consumers is maximized.
- It is important to consider professional development of sales staff. To maximize returns from LED sign investments, retailers need to make sure their sales staff is comfortable with the new technology.
