Five Ways Retailers Can Benefit From Audiovisual Technologies

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Retailers have tried numerous ways over the years to draw in shoppers and hold their attention long enough to make a sale. Today, many are using innovative audiovisual (AV) solutions. Consider these five ways that retailers can put the newest generation of audiovisual technology to work and better engage customers. For a fuller exploration, visit avixa.org/retailAV.

#1 Turn Walls, Floors, and Ceilings Into Displays
One exciting development in display technology is flexible, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels. They’re thin and survive extreme bending. In some places, flexible OLEDs are replacing large, static displays on walls, pillars, and ceilings to entice people to enter a store, food court, or attraction. At the Lotte Tower & Mall in Seoul, customers pass through an OLED tunnel that displays colorful light shows, panoramic forests, and star fields. Elsewhere, there’s a floor made of OLEDs, showing a sequence of videos, and a similar OLED ceiling. The effect is to convey a feeling of constant forward motion even when visitors are standing still.

#2 Combine Virtual Reality With Shopping
So-called “shoppertainment” combines digital signage, innovative displays, and mobile technologies that interact with customers to make shopping a fun, enjoyable experience. Trying on a pair of shoes is one thing; experiencing them is another. That’s what happens at Nike SoHo in New York. Multiple videowall displays (some with touchscreens) throughout the store “create a seamless link between Nike’s digital and physical platforms.” The videowall in the Nike+ Basketball Trial Zone surrounds consumers with high-definition images of iconic New York courts. At the Nike+ Running Trial Zone, videowalls let shoppers experience a stretch of Central Park or the West Side Highway as they test shoes on treadmills.

#3 Create Larger-Than-Life Virtual Spaces
Some shoppertainment experiences rival those of an IMAX theater. Sony Square, a technology showcase in New York, features an enormous fine-pitch, 30-foot videowall that uses tiny light-emitting diodes to create seamless images in 8K resolution. At normal viewing distances, the wall fills shoppers’ field of view, whether sitting or standing. High-resolution video and photos are complemented by an array of speakers that create a three-dimensional sound field. Combine ultra-high-resolution HDR video and spatial sound and visitors feel like they’re sitting among musicians in an orchestra, in the stands at a football game, or in a car at a racetrack.

#4 Use Displays to Visualize a Purchase
Rent the Runway has thousands of styles on-hand from over 300 designers. Shoppers rent an outfit (or outfits) and the entire process can take place online. So, where does AV fit in? Despite a spike in online retail sales, a survey from Accenture discovered that 82 percent of millennials prefer to shop at physical locations. Rent the Runway maintains five retail stores; the 4,000-square-foot New York store installed a 138-inch videowall to greet customers and display video clips showing their peers wearing the available clothing. The retail floor also features 32-inch touchscreens that enable viewing of some 200,000 potential wardrobe options, as well as mirrored LCD displays that send messages to customers as they consider their selections.

#5 Show Off a Product’s Features
When customers visit a Sleep Number store, they can experience available beds, and the company’s IndividualFit 3D Imaging software shows them how their bodies react. As the fit adjusts, they can watch pressure points dissipate on large-screen visuals. Sleep Number can now project those pressure-sensor visuals onto specially-crafted, 95-inch glass screens using small, bright projectors. The screen, coated with a special optical film, can be viewed both from the front and back with equal clarity. The company has found that a picture is, indeed, worth a thousand words.

AVIXA™ is the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, Presenting Sponsor of IRDC 2018. AVIXA and its members aim to help retailers create a more successful future through the integration of audiovisual experiences. AVIXA represents the $178 billion global commercial AV industry and produces InfoComm trade shows around the world.

For more information,visit avixa.org/retailAV.