Will digital signage become as ubiquitous in retail spaces as analysts have predicted for more than a decade? The evidence at the recent Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas suggests that the technology may be ready to grow beyond concept stores and high-profile flagships where many past initiatives have stalled.
Developments outside the brick-and-mortar environment could be driving such a broader deployment. As retailers react to the threat of Amazon by better integrating online and in-store experiences, they are (perhaps unknowingly) creating the backend data infrastructure that finally enables them to use digital signage as a strategic tool with a measurable return. Three telling indicators: The PRI Retail Forum held the day before DSE was dedicated to omni-channel, not signage; the majority of the presenters had backgrounds in marketing and technology rather than design or merchandising; and the opening keynote was delivered by Intel’s visual retail worldwide director, a title that would have seemed incongruous a few years ago.
To the new drivers of digital signage programs, LED screens are just one more way to drive immediate changes in consumer behavior toward specific marketing goals. As Margot Myers of PRI put it in one panel discussion, “Anytime technology deployment is driven by business objectives and not a desire to do something ‘cool,’ it’s far more likely to have buy-in from the C-suite.”
But it won’t happen overnight. In a straw poll of attendees at the start of the PRI Forum, nearly every retailer in attendance raised their hands when asked if they had ever employed digital signage. When asked how many used those signs as part of an integrated omni-channel strategy, not a single hand remained raised.