5 Digital Signage Ideas for Retail Launches

Retail is all about catching the eyes of potential customers. The store windows, the fancy displays; they’re all there to entice shoppers in through the doors. And here’s why we’re so passionate about digital signage; it’s an automatic attention-grabber. Aside from the statistics that show how it increases purchases by 44% and gets 80% of customers entering a store, how often do you walk past a screen without giving it a glance?

In this post we bring you a selection of advice to help you work your displays in the midst of a retail launch.

1. Employ a low-cost, reversible screen solution

When we say reversible we don’t mean like a reversible waterproof coat. What we mean is, static signs are fixed. Once you’ve pasted it to the wall there’s not much more you can do so you have to ensure longevity. It’s no good basing the content on your campaign that’s happening in the moment or your launch hashtag, because in two weeks time both of those could be out of date.

But digital signage is fluid. If you use a system like ScreenCloud you’ll also find a huge amount of flexibility. Perhaps you want to hook 10 screens up for launch night, then reduce to four. With ScreenCloud, you’re only charged for the screens you use, so any screens removed throughout the month are deducted, pro rata, from your final bill. When you’re only paying for what you use, you have more flexibility to employ more screens however you want, ready for that all important launch night.

2. Adapt the digital signage content time

During your retail launch, whether for a specific product or a full store, there’s going to be a sensory overload. Anyone who hasn’t been in your store before is going to want to look at new products, new layouts and any press activity that’s occurring solely for that day or night.

As we mention in our design guide a short-term digital signage viewer such as those passing by a shop window is likely to view the display for less than 30 seconds. During a retail launch you may have two scenarios that affect this.

If the passer-by is simply walking past your new store, they may view any digital screens in windows for less than 30 seconds (given the amount of stimulus on display as mentioned above). Instead of a 30-second loop, you may wish to reduce this to 10 or 20 seconds, so that the key message is obvious.

Inside the store, customers may spend much longer than 30 seconds. After all, if it’s a brand new store or line launch there’s going to be lots of look at right? In this case, you might want to extend your playlist or schedule to as long as two minutes (mid-term viewing).

3. Experiment with content

We have nearly 50 apps in the ScreenCloud App Store, which makes experimenting with content super easy. Digital signage retail content can be anything from video showreels of new products or lines, to rich social media dashboards, menu boards, travel information and more.

Content can be tailored to a specific product, store or location and experimenting throughout the launch period is easy. Simply drag and drop new content in, remove anything that’s not working and edit the timing of playlists as you see fit. Digital signage is never fixed and the more you experiment and play around the more chance you have of stumbling across your most effective playlist.

4. Consider different screen options

The positioning and location of your screen is going to have a big effect on who uses it and how well the content is received. You’ll see many retail campaigns where the adage is “bigger is better” but is that really the case?

Some stores get a ton of coverage from a huge screen in the window, whereas others find that big screens swamp their visitors. Some retail stores make use of a collection of different screens whereas some get sensory overload from any more than two.

It really does depend on what type of content you’re going to show, where you’re going to show it and who your audience are. As long as you consider basic digital signage design rules such as not playing two moving videos in the same zoned display screen, the rest is up to you.

You could use one screen, split into four zoned sections to share different information or you could use four individual screens. You could have a standard HDMI screen in your store window, then iPads and tablets showing signage at the key point of sale.

Now that digital signage is so easy to manage and setup, there are so many more choices available about what you can (and should) do.

5. Combat set it and forget it syndrome

Naturally, retail stores far outlive their launch campaigns. Following a specific launch, most retailers want to build a loyal customer base, increase brand awareness and get shoppers coming back for more.

This can’t be achieved when you have the same launch content and ads playing on endless loop. Don’t be that store that puts up a showreel and leaves it playing for the next year. Change things up and ensure that your playlists are reviewed at least once per month.

Even changing the order of your playlist, adding content that updates automatically like social media, or adding in a new element or two could make a huge difference.

We love working on exciting retail campaigns that deliver on great experiences for stores and their customers. See how we helped Lenovo with their in-store launch campaign or get started with ScreenCloud at https://screencloud.com.