Platt Retail Institute: Digital Signage Integration – The Perfect Marriage
Commentary by Justin Greenfield, Research Associate, Platt Retail Institute
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion, is a summary
of a current article from the Platt Retail Institute’s Journal of Retail
Analytics.
Mobile devices and digital signage complement each other by shoring
up the other’s
weaknesses and amplifying their strengths.
Mobile devices can provide consumers
with engagement and selectivity of products and services, something familiar
because of web advertising and online shopping. They also permit operators
to measure consumer interactions such as the number and type of individual
interactions and point of sale (POS) transactions.
An example of how mobile/signage
communication could work is coupons delivered from the sign to the device,
which can be scanned at the POS terminal. Consumers will appreciate the perk
of saving money for simply interacting with a sign. Digital signage network
owners will enjoy more accurate and profitable ways of charging advertisers.
There
is also one advantage that digital screens have over mobile devices – size!
This further benefits the engagement experienced by the consumer. By offering
a viewer games, polls, and other creative interactive content, digital signage
can increase engagement and run advertising seamlessly within the content.
One
challenge is how to initiate contact with the mobile device without infringing
on the consumers’ privacy rights. This means it may be wiser for digital
signage owners to allow the consumer to make a conscious decision to opt into
mobile/signage communication rather than sending them unnecessary messages
when the target is within certain proximity of an outgoing signal. It should
be the signs’ responsibility to capture the audience. This means enticing
content and creativity on the part of the digital signage network owners.
Once
the consumer has been attracted, direct them to their mobile device for further
interactivity. The cellular device can now take over and maintain the viewer’s
attention. Using this form of pull messaging will help digital signage avoid
being compared with spam.
Technology and synchronicity variances among various
mobile devices leave digital signage network owners feeling somewhat helpless
for now. This however does not mean that they are unable to make smart strategic
decisions regarding how they deliver the interactive experience and how they
reward the consumer for opting in to this experience.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the potential of reaching
consumers in store by integrating mobile devices and digital signage? Where
do you see the greatest opportunities for merging the two technologies?
The younger generation just assumes that electronic things interact. It’s a fact of life for them.
The author adds an interested conundrum about opting in to the interaction. While this is certainly easy to do, it’s also possible to interact with consumers by getting the technology added into free applications. Many free Apps include location-based settings and are free because you’re agreeing to the ads and location-based alerts by using the free app.
Consumers are all carrying in their own devices. Retailers should spend the money to put the hardware in a good number of locations. The last nugget is to hire some bright people to test, re-test, change up, and continue to test the ways in which they can interact. I like standing in the aisle and watching people.
It’s great that digital signs can deliver instant offers and coupons to consumers’ mobile devices, but I think it’s a stretch to think that consumers will take time to engage in games, polls, and other interactive gimmicks.
Accurate measurement between digital signage and sales information will help manufacturers understand where the tipping point is for consumers. If they can combine loyalty card data, they could even deliver a custom offer designed for specific consumers or groups of consumers. This would make the shopping experience more appealing to consumers and more profitable for retailers.
If marketers can make this a smooth flow of interactivity throughout the store they have a better chance of consumers incorporating this behavior into their shopping experience. One or two digital signs will not encourage shoppers to pause and play. But if the digital interactivity is something consumers feel is part of enhancing their shopping experience…without adding too much time…they might just go for it.
Convince the shopper that it’s worth their time. Have at least 5 signs in the store at various category displays. When shoppers leave the store, perhaps they’ve saved $5.00 or more. But ask them to hang out with one sign and a package to save less than $1.00, and I don’t think you will win their interest, loyalty or engagement.
Digital signage integration in retail stores has the potential to be either amazingly fantastic or else an amazing debacle. And we shall see both of those things happen within various retail chains at different times. It’s all a matter of putting the right people in place to make it happen and see it through properly and effectively. But I’ll bet you that isn’t going to happen in every retail chain that decides on a whim to try this out!
Digital signage and mobile devices are a natural combination. The retail media landscape will without question incorporate both. Basically digital signage provides a “push” message in the retail space, reaching out to the customer and initiating the interaction, or raising awareness. The mobile device allows the consumer to do anything that an interactive device can do but has the advantage of being on a personal piece of technology that the store does not have to purchase.
The opportunity for a digital sign to actively promote a good mobile app that has relevance for the customer is also huge. Getting customers at a home improvement store to download apps with how to/ project information, or to have lifestyle stores connect to relevant interests outside of their own brands and build a stronger relationship with their customers. The ability to promote strategic relationships with vendors or complimentary industries–movie industry, video games, music etc, is powerful.
The opportunities are enormous, retail media will have multiple branches each adding to and improving the customers experience and making the communication more personal and relevant. Exciting stuff!