Signage is everywhere.
Every interaction between a consumer and a brand is part of the overall retail experience. This could be a billboard or advertisement on the street, the look and feel of a storefront design, or the physical and digital displays within a shop. They even influence how employees engage with customers and deliver value.
Understanding each of these touch points is critical for retailers to create the experiences that consumers desire. Studies show that 67% of Gen Z consumers prefer to make purchases in brick-and-mortar stores, and 56% want the experience to be fun in the process.
In today’s competitive retail world, static, broken, disconnected experiences won’t cut it. Retailers must understand, design and build experiences to meet customers where they are and engage them throughout the shopping experience. According to a Retail TouchPoints Store Design & Experience survey, brick-and-mortar retailers are investing in holistic brand experiences. It found that more than 60% of retailers focused on multi-purpose technology that is designed to serve both customers and employees. Digital signage, interactive kiosks and product displays are a huge part of this equation.
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So the stage is set. Here are a few trends impacting retail experiences.
Retailers Rethink Spaces, Blurring the Line Between Shopping and Advertising
Studies show that U.S. in-store retail media advertising spending will increase more than 30%. This suggests that retailers are thinking more strategically about their digital content strategies — and how they fit within overall business objectives. They are looking for ways to optimize signage and place displays in locations that will have the most impact on consumers. This requires a fine balance, with every touch point straddling the line between “selling” a product and “creating” an experience.
We’ve already seen big-box retailers like Walmart deploy strategies that change how products are displayed throughout the store and allow brands to advertise on every square inch of their walls. They are using digital signage and interactive displays to reimagine traditional aisles, while also selling real estate to brands looking to advertise or inform potential customers.
Retailers are leveraging advanced media players and content management tools to make this possible. Creating this experience with analog signs is ineffective and time-consuming for workers. Now, at the flip of a switch or during different times of the day, content can be rotated, updated or swapped. This means that brands can modify content with speed and precision to create a tailored experience.
Meeting Consumers Where They are with Self-Serve, Personalized Retail
Almost one in two consumers use mobile phones to search for product information or compare prices while in-store. This takes consumers “away” from the moment, distracts them and risks them following a different path to purchase that results in lost business. Any time a consumer is in a storefront, retailers want them engaged, not walking out to get back on their phone.
With digital signage innovations, brands are bringing online and social commerce to the in-store experience. For example, when a customer interacts with a product, displays can show information that would have previously been reserved for mobile search. Digitally powered kiosks show product information, pricing and features, and even cycle through recent reviews — all without having to tap into phones in our pockets.
This also means that the consumer can dictate the pace of their shopping experience (as they would online) and get the help of a staff member if they need it. It keeps customers engaged while freeing up staff to help others that may require more assistance.
Taking this even further into personalization, these displays can show what the product looks like in different sizes, colors or SKUs, and where it can be purchased — in-store or delivered from another location. And based on purchase history, it could even recommend similar items or other locations in the store buyers can look for inspiration. Keeping consumers in the moment is an important part of in-store retail strategies. It’s not about ignoring online. It’s about using technology to bring the benefits of that experience to the physical location.
Emerging Technology Pushes the Retail Space into New Territory
Artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT sensors are changing how retailers market and sell products. Evolution in sensor-based product displays enables gesture, touch and other types of interactivity. For example, walking up to a display of sunglasses could trigger an illumination of lights that focuses consumers’ attention on certain products. When they pick up that product, weight-based sensors determine which product was selected, triggering desired content to appear on the display. This is an elevated experience.
These interactions also present a rich source of data for retailers. The information gathered from IoT sensors and other digital signage systems is incredibly powerful. It gives a new level of specificity to measuring the impact of each interaction — and represents a big opportunity to better connect the front to the back of the store. The more retailers know about each interaction and the products purchased, for example, the faster they can optimize the display or sign, and the closer the physical storefront gets to real-time data-driven decision-making.
Cue AI. How long did a customer engage with a product? What path did consumers follow through the store? Which products do they tend to interact with together, and why? Did the display or product evoke an emotion? This information is now actionable and available at a retailer’s fingertips.
With more information coming at a faster rate, opportunity awaits nimble brands that can create the experiences that customers desire. Being able to digitally update or change the look, feel and flow of experiences is critical to acting on this information to benefit the business.
Retailers: Ask the Right Questions on the Digital Signage Journey
One of the biggest mistakes made when retailers embark on digital signage journeys is looking for a “quick fix” solution — and a lack of thought into what implementations look like after day one.
Retail is dynamic. Experiences are dynamic. Digital signage solutions must grow and evolve with brands, unlike band-aid solutions that cause more problems down the line. And, as seen across the retail space, broken signage leads to poor experiences that are costly and lower brand affinity. A brand can have the most stunning visuals, creative marketing ideas and clever advertisements — all of which mean nothing if screens are blue or black.
So start by asking, “What am I trying to accomplish?”
Retailers should know what they hope to achieve with each experience and then work from there. If the goal is interactive experiences with personalized self-serve kiosks that puts content security at the forefront, then that changes how they go about creating a unique digital signage experience. Retailers can then consult with the right people to help bring this to life.
The future of retail will be defined by unique customer experiences, in which every touch point matters. Retailers must look at each interaction and ask, “is this having the desired effect?”
If the answer is no, it’s time for a different conversation.
Misty Chalk is the VP of Sales, Americas, at BrightSign, the global market leader powering the digital signage industry. She brings two decades of technology experience, helping both small and large organizations define their unique digital signage journey to meet the changing needs of consumers.
