When customers think about the future of retail, captivating digital signage may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But just because customers aren’t considering how a menu display or video wall plays into their in-store experience doesn’t mean retailers should ignore this massive part of a brick-and-mortar location.
During NRF 2019, I spoke with Chris Mertens, vice president of U.S. End User Sales, B2B Displays at Samsung, about the importance of digital signage in today’s retail world.
“The benefit of digital signage is really more around your brand and how you leverage it out to the community,” said Mertens. “Signage is changing so much, regardless of [whether you’re] in finance or retail or automotive. Digital signage is that next level of reaching out to customers and engaging with them, making it an immersive experience for both internal and external customers.”
Connecting and engaging with customers is one of the greatest benefits of digital signage, but it requires a detailed strategy for successful implementation. Content and placement are the two key factors to consider when determining signage options.
“First of all, [businesses] should really look at how [consumers] use the content,” Mertens said. “What do you want your content to be, and [what is] your message out to your marketplace? It’s really important to take your time around building the right content using the right platform and then ensuring your message is placed appropriately within your business.”
When planning your digital signage approach, make location and quality your top priorities.
“Whether it’s a storefront, conference room or a customer-facing arena, you really want to make sure that your signage is placed correctly, and the content is as good as possible. [This applies] whether it is 4K, Full HD or UHD. You have to make sure that content reads well on the signage itself.”
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