You've probably already seen digital signage in action, but you may not have realized that these eye-catching displays can offer your retail location some powerful, tangible benefits. From increasing the number of shoppers coming through your doors, to boosting the value of sales, these modern marketing tools have plenty to offer, making them a smart investment for your brand.

An Eye-Catching Display

Digital signage can take a number of forms, from LED billboards through to dynamic video walls. And there is no shortage of ways in which it can be used to capture the attention of passers-by. These smart screens can offer interactive maps and information, show live streams of a social media feed, or simply advertise a brand or event with clever animations.

If you own a retail outlet, then you will already know that making your brand stand out from the competition is key to its success, and digital signage can help you to do exactly this. By placing your digital signage in carefully selected locations, you can not only target your preferred customer demographic, but also capture their attention more effectively. In fact, it's been shown in studies that digital signage will be seen by a staggering 70% of Americans, soundly beating Facebook (41%) and the internet (43%) in terms of reach. Better still, these customers then have an incredible 83% recall rate of the digital adverts seen.

Of course, it makes sense to carefully plan out a strategy for your digital signage to ensure that you see the best results, but the benefits are clear.

Increase Footfall

You can help your prospective customers find your store by including a map showing its location in a mall or retail district, or if you choose to have digital signage right on the premises, you can include a map showing where they can find the most popular items or departments. Including a QR code or encouraging 'check ins' at your location will also work in your favor. This can help to set your store as a 'verified location' on major search engine maps such as Google Maps, helping yet more customers to find you in the future. It's worth finding out more about how digital signs increase footfall including ideas on choosing the most effective location.

Create Urgency

You can increase the sense of urgency in your customers using digital signage as a way to advertise 'one hour only' or 'today only' discounts or other promotions. This will encourage some of those who were just browsing to buy instead, motivated by a limited availability bargain. It's worth choosing different times or days to run your discounts and then looking at the metrics for your sales figures based on different promotions. This will give you a powerful insight into the best times to run future offers, increasing the value of these sales. Best of all, this approach is cheaper, more flexible, and more cost-effective than traditional poster and coupon campaigns.

You can also run contests using your digital signage, which can be linked to your social media accounts and other QR codes, helping to encourage shoppers and build valuable brand awareness.

Increase Targeted Sales

Digital signage works really well in encouraging shoppers to buy selected products in your store, by advertising discounts or promotions on specific items only. It's quick and easy to update the signage, so you can switch the offers to reflect the stock items you want to move fast. This can be a really effective way of avoiding a stockpile of outdated or seasonal products.

It's worth thinking about advertising products on sale in other departments or areas of your store, encouraging customers to move around and buy more. You can go one step further and offer interactive digital signage that allows customers to click through your product range, or access your social media accounts. This improves your customers' experience, increases basket size and helps to build brand loyalty.

An Effective Approach

As the statistics show, digital signage is a smart investment for any retail outlet, and there are many different strategies that can be used to make the most of this exciting technology. With digital signage being proven to receive 400% more views than traditional posters and signs, and deliver an extra 31.8% in sales, it's a marketing tool that your business cannot afford to be without.