Retail digital signage has been proven to boost customer engagement and sales, but it takes more than simply rolling it out in-store. If you want to ensure success, right out of the gate, then you need to know which digital signage features will generate the most impact. To save you from having to learn what works through trial and error, we’ve devised a short-list of top features that have been tried and tested by real-world customers.
Before we dive into the best features for your digital store signage, it’s important to consider the kind of technology that you’ll need. While it can be tempting to focus solely on the hardware – that is, the digital signs and media players you’d like to see installed, remember that it’s the software you choose that will do much of the heavy-lifting. Despite its hidden, behind-the- scenes role, it’s the digital signage software you use that will help manage and schedule your content efficiently – and drive the most impactful in-store customer experiences.
Benefits of Cloud-based Digital Signage for Retail
Cloud-based retail signage, like Signagelive, is an especially effective software option, making it quick, simple and convenient to remotely manage content in real-time. You can either upload messaging for immediate display, or schedule it days, weeks, even months in advance on one, some or all your digital screens, and from absolutely anywhere.
Built for cost efficiency and ease of use, cloud-based signage for retail also saves you from the trouble and expense of investing in an on-premise server, or of having to update your software. Moreover, scalable cloud-based signage software is designed to keep up with the growth of your business, enabling you to simply update your subscription licence and add digital posters to your network, as and when required. Centralised remote control is also especially useful for retail chains across multiple locations, enabling you to ensure consistency in your communications.
Automated Digital Signage Software
Look out for additional features, such as In-built Tagging, which allow you to automatically send out specific content to groups of players at a time. Offering the option of categorising your media players by, for example, location, region, or product-focus, In-built Tagging can help you save valuable time, allowing you to deliver communication updates to multiple players simultaneously.
Advanced Scheduling for In-store Advertising
Some platforms will also provide more advanced content management options. These include the ability to pre-select automatic end as well as start times for your campaigns, so that your content never over-runs beyond its allocated airtime.
Of course, that’s not all cloud-based signage can offer. The best retail digital signage solutions can also give you the cutting-edge features you need to boost store traffic and deliver incredible customer experiences – all while streamlining your content management processes.
Lift and Learn Solutions for Digital Signage
With cloud-based signage software features, like Web Triggers, you can build “Lift and Learn” interactive showcases. These will not only streamline costs and in-store resources, but also, create a personalised store experience – without the help of any staff. You can create more opportunities for sales by automatically featuring additional helpful product information on-screen, every time a shopper picks up and interacts with a particular showcase item. This information could include everything from alternative sizes, colours and stock availability, to products that would complement the item on display. It’s a great way to maximise the chances of a sale, while also enabling customers to shop in peace, without any pressure from staff.
Web Triggers for Digital Display Screens
Have you ever wondered how much more effectively you could market your products, if you were able to automatically interrupt your scheduled content with live product updates about availability? In sales periods, you could continuously track your inventory, and use your digital signage to give customers live updates about how quickly items are selling through. You can do all this at the touch of a button by using retail digital signage Web Triggers with platforms, like Nexmosphere.
Experiential Digital Signage for Retail
An exclusive feature of Signagelive, Real Time Events (RTEs) enables retailers to cost-effectively devise in-store experiential campaigns. With this solution, you’re able to use our digital software platform to manage locally connected devices, pre-setting them to automatically operate at specific times during your on-screen content. This helps to set exactly the right ambience, allowing you to emphasise specific product unique selling points (USPS), or end-of-season sales by associating them with an immersive, sensory experience. For a big sale announcement, you could dim the lights, so all eyes turn to your displays, or you could play thematically-linked music when specific products appear on-screen.
Customer Marketing at Point of Sale
Already taking quick service restaurants (QSRs) by storm, features, such as Signagelive Screen Takeovers can help you go BIG with your digital signage messaging. With this feature, you can turn side-by-side digital displays or digital menu boards into one giant video wall, supersizing a specific message, so that it spans across multiple screens .The ultimate attention-grabbing marketing tool, it allows you to interrupt pre-scheduled content with a promotion that you don’t want customers to miss. For maximum impact, why not schedule intermittent screen takeovers on the screens behind your retail counters? It’s the perfect way to tempt customers with some last-minute deals before they complete their checkouts.
API-first Digital Signage Solutions
Look out for API-first open source digital signage software. This makes it quick, easy and cost-effective for you to integrate your network with other retail business tools, including CRM and ERP systems. Ideal for your back-office retail operations, these integrated solutions enable you to display real-time data. With live inventory updates and/or performance metrics, staff can ensure stores are well-stocked, and that on-screen promotions reflect what’s selling best, or in most need of further advertising.
Corporate Communications Software for Retail
Cloud-based signage for retail can also work to optimise your back-office operations in other ways. Built-in software features, like Signagelive’s data integrations can, for example, enhance employee collaboration and facilitate more informed decision-making across all your retail locations. You can centralise access to business insights from multiple business intelligence platforms, including Microsoft PowerBI and securely share them in real time across back-office displays.
Turn Browsers into Buyers Using Software Metrics
Cloud-based digital signage for retail can offer features, such as Proof of Play to help you monitor and track the performance of your on-screen advertising. With downloadable reports, detailing what content played on which screens and when, users can cross-reference the performance of specific campaigns with their own retail sales data. It’s a valuable way to check which content works, so you can continue to build and improve your on-screen advertising.
Vision AI Digital Signage to Boost Sales
Integrations between cloud-based signage software, like Signagelive and MeldCX ensure you can go one step further with your data analytics, and turn more in-store browsers into high-spending customers. You can leverage vision AI to build campaigns, based on anonymous shopper insights, such as customer dwell time. This integrated solution makes it easy to find out who your top, target personas are, and which kind of content they prefer. The data can then be used, so you’re able to automatically change and display content to suit every persona type.
Security for Digital Signage Software
Don’t forget the importance of protecting your data. These days, any size of retail organisation can be a target of social engineering and hacker attacks. If your data is breached and stolen, it could result in serious financial losses and reputational damage for your retail stores.
ISO27001-certified Software Providers
When it comes to choosing which software provider to work with, look out for green flags, such as ISO-27001 accreditation. This kind of certification verifies that the company has the credentials to manage and protect large volumes of sensitive data.
Content Creation Tools for Retail Digital Signage
The best software solutions come pre-packaged with content creation tools, which make it easy for any team member, regardless of their technical expertise, to design content, without any coding experience. Signagelive’s integrated platform, Screenfeed Connect, enables you to create content, and pull in pictures, text and data from any connected source, like Google Docs.
Digital Signage Solutions for Interactive Screens
Incorporating in-store touchscreen solutions can help boost the number of sales per store by enabling you to deliver powerful, interactive customer experiences. In addition to touchscreens, you’ll need an effective digital signage software solution that can offer features, like Signagelive’s interactive Kiosk Mode.
Interactive Digital Signage Software
Ideal for delivering a consistently reliable and smooth interactive experience, Kiosk Mode allows the on-screen content to be instantly switched from regular advertising to more personalised content. With one swift touch interaction, customers can find out specific information, which is likely to increase the chances of them making a purchase. This could include information about where to find an out-of-stock product in other stores in your chain, or online. With interactive digital signage software, you can also incentivise customers to make purchases by offering discounts for anyone who signs up via your touchscreens to your loyalty card or newsletter. This kind of digital signage software also works well for self-service kiosks, enabling you to include on-screen prompts to tempt customers to make additions to their orders.
Digital Displays for Retail Stores
Advanced cloud-based digital signage software, like Signagelive, usually offers tried and tested compatibility with a wide range of hardware. This gives you more scope to choose displays, and/or System-on-Chip displays (screens with built-in media players), that come with exactly the features you need for your retail space.
High Brightness Digital Screens
If you plan to roll out digital advertising screens in your window displays , or in highly reflective retail locations , then it’s best to consider installing high brightness models, with 1000-2500 cd/m². More than twice as bright as regular household TVs, these digital screens are designed to reduce the on-screen glare of direct sunlight or harsh lighting.
High resolution Digital Advertising Screens
Before you invest in any specific digital display screens, find out what the in-store viewing distances will be. This will help you to understand what picture resolution you’ll need. Remember, that if the viewing distances are likely to be close or relatively far away, you’ll probably require higher 4K resolution displays. You’ll want the detail on-screen to look good close-up, and to ensure that it’s visible from further away.
Commercial Digital Advertising Displays
While consumer displays are the most affordable screen type, they rarely work in business settings. Ideally, for retail, you need commercial monitors that can offer high-quality and steady, round-the-clock operation. Look out for professional monitors that can offer 24/7 or 24/5 operation.
Retail digital signage is key to unlocking the digital transformation of your stores, but its success will depend on its features and functionality. All signage solutions are not created equal, and the software you choose could ultimately make or break the customer shopping experience. To capitalise on the sales potential of retail digital signage, it’s therefore important to consider a software, like Signagelive that’s secure, easy to manage and scale up, and comes pre-packaged with advanced marketing features. Reach out to us for your Signagelive demo.
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