Merchandising is a big deal in retail because it helps business owners show off their products in a way that gets shoppers excited to buy them. But coming up with new and creative ways to showcase products can be tough.
That's where digital signage comes in!
Digital displays in retail stores take merchandising to the next level by grabbing customer attention and influencing purchase decisions like never before.
In this post, we'll explore how digital signage can maximize your merchandising strategy and boost sales.
Let's dive in!
What is Merchandising in Retail?
Merchandising in retail refers to the strategic activities businesses take to make products attractive and appealing so that customers want to buy them when they enter a store. This includes choosing which products to sell, where to put them in the store, creating visually appealing displays, and setting the right prices.
Effective merchandising enhances the overall shopping experience in a way that influences the customer's perception of value to encourage impulse purchases.
Some key merchandising elements:
- Store layout - How you arrange products in your retail space. You want popular items front and center.
- Displays - Using signs, lighting, fixtures, and more to highlight products and make them stand out!
- Promotions - Sales, coupons, and loyalty programs that get shoppers excited about specific items.
- Product info - Provide details to customers so they better understand what you're selling.
How Digital Signage Enhances Merchandising Strategy
Bringing Products to Life
Imagery and short video clips displayed on digital screens showcase products in use and bring them to life. For example, displays can show beverages being poured, foods sizzling, or appliances in action. This engages shoppers more than lifeless products sitting on a shelf.
Promotions on the Fly
If a retailer needs to roll out a new sales promotion or coupon, digital signs can immediately reflect the latest offer everywhere. Last-minute seasonal sales or time-sensitive deals are also easy to display storewide at a moment's notice.
Timely and Targeted Content
Digital displays allow the presentation of tailored messaging and offers based on the time of day, week, season, or holiday in relevance to the audience's demographics, location, or buying behavior. That way, content stays relevant to shoppers with real-time updates.
Pro Tip: Personalizing your merchandising strategy is way easier with a digital signage software solution that helps you automate updates. Look's smart scheduling feature enables you to pre-program content changes based on specific times or triggers, such as showcasing seasonal items, promoting limited-time offers during peak hours, or highlighting complementary products based on in-store shopper behavior.
Interactive Engagement
Touchscreen kiosks take personalization even further by allowing shoppers to proactively explore product info and deals specific to them. With Look DS scenes feature for instance, you can create a multi-layered interactive experience where customers can navigate through product categories, access detailed specifications, watch demo videos, or even view personalized recommendations based on their preferences.
Brand Consistency
Multi-location retailers often struggle to keep branding and promotions consistent across stores with traditional signage. But with digital signage, you can your brand’s visual identity - logos, colors, fonts - in a unified way on each and every screen no matter the location.
Pro Tip: Look’s extensive library of pre-made templates makes it easier for you to create professional-looking content that adheres to your brand guidelines. Once customized, you can apply the content to all relevant screens in multiple locations for a consistent look.
Measurable Sales Impact
With these merchandising benefits, deploying digital signage can directly boost key retail performance metrics:
- 68% of customers are more likely to purchase products promoted on digital displays.
- In-store sales promotions displayed via digital signage can increase sales by over 30%.
- Digital storefront signage can increase retail foot traffic by up to 17%.
Versatile Placement
Digital signage isn't confined to a single spot, you can strategically position displays throughout your store, starting with eye-catching window displays that draw customers, to interactive kiosks that encourage exploration and discovery.
Place screens at checkout counters for those tempting last-minute impulse buys, or near fitting rooms to suggest complementary items.
Creative Merchandising Tactics with Digital Displays
Here are some of the most innovative ways retailers can leverage digital signage to elevate their in-store merchandising:
Promote Seasonal and Event-Driven Campaigns
Create Immersive Holiday Experiences: The sights, sounds, and messaging displayed on in-store digital signage can completely transform a retail space for major holidays.
For example, retailers can quickly turn their stores into a dynamic Christmas wonderland. Digital displays can show falling snow, ornament and gift imagery, holiday deals, product gift guides, and decor inspiration. Signage can also play festive music to engage shoppers in the holiday spirit.
Read our article Unleash Festive Creativity with Look's Dynamic Ideas here.
Timely Promotions for Seasonal Events: With digital signage, this timing is effortless to implement compared to printed signs. The displays can dynamically adapt to promote the most relevant products and offer precisely when shoppers need them.
As Back to School approaches, digital signage can highlight school supplies and backpacks. Signage reminding customers of Mother's Day is useful in the weeks leading up to it. Promoting sun care products and swimwear is best timed around the arrival of summer.
Pro Tip: We are constantly expanding our database of templates for seasonal events, check them out in your personal Look account.
Upselling and Cross-selling
Suggestive Selling Through Digital Signage: Digital signs make it easy to dynamically spotlight certain products throughout the store to boost specific purchases. Retailers can highlight new arrivals with eye-catching animations, showcasing seasonal items in high-traffic areas, or promoting limited-time offers with vibrant displays that create a sense of urgency.
Prominent Placement of High-Margin Items
Highlighting Key Products: Digital displays can strategically call out high-profit items that retailers want to increase sales of based on inventory needs and profit goals.
For example, a home goods store could place signage near luxury candles or bedding upgrades to drive more purchases in those categories. An electronics retailer might spotlight certain high-end TVs with the biggest profit margins.
Guide In-Store Shopper Journeys
Improve In-Store Wayfinding: Digital displays posted around the store provide clear wayfinding cues that help customers easily find what they need. Signage near category zones, escalators, and aisles eliminates frustration and improves navigation.
For example, as shoppers step off an escalator into the shoe department, a digital screen could display a simple “Shoes” message with relevant imagery and product spotlights.
Optimize In-Store Layouts with Digital Signage
Strategically positioned digital displays can attract and guide customers to key areas to spur purchasing.
Entrance and Window Displays
Use digital signs at store entrances to grab attention and draw customers in with compelling offers and promotions.
Window displays with vibrant imagery attract passersby by creating curiosity around your product.
Aisle-End Displays (Endcaps)
Use endcap displays to promote aisle-specific products. Targeted messaging at secondary purchase points increases add-on sales.
Trigger Impulse Purchases
Highlight new or promoted products within aisles to catch shoppers' eyes and inspire unplanned purchases.
Checkout Counters
Subtly push shoppers to increase their basket size by displaying last-minute deals near the register.
Digital Signage Merchandising Success Stories
When you creatively apply digital signage, it captivates customers and drives sales. Let's explore some ideas and real case study
Furniture and Appliances - Railway Furnishers
Railway Furnishers, a South African retail business, enhanced its marketing using Look Digital Signage. By using existing in-store TVs, they transitioned from inefficient USB-based content distribution to a centralized system using Look's platform. This allowed them to make instant updates across all branches, especially across rural locations. The solution improved merchandising flexibility, reduced delays, and significantly streamlined marketing operations. The ease of use and scalability of Look DS made it a perfect fit for their needs.
Apparel Stores - Uniqlo
Uniqlo, a global clothing retailer known for its high-quality, minimalist design, transformed its in-store experience by integrating digital signage across its flagship locations in the Asia-Pacific region. They synchronized a network of high-definition screens to display branded content that enhanced the shopping experience by creating an immersive and dynamic visual experience.
Grocery and Supermarkets - Kroger Co.
Kroger Co, a major American retail company that primarily operates supermarkets and multi-department stores across the United States, successfully deployed digital signage to enhance their in-store experience by installing 55 digital kiosks across 125 locations.
This strategy helped Kroger display promotions and branded content effectively in high-traffic areas, like entrances near the produce section. The digital kiosks provided a modern, dynamic way to engage customers with timely updates on promotional content, resulting in a fresh, engaging shopping environment.
Beauty and Cosmetics Stores - Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty, a leading U.S. beauty retailer known for its wide range of cosmetics, skincare, and hair care products, enhanced its in-store experience by introducing smart kiosks for digital advertising and interactive engagement. These kiosks showcase targeted advertisements while offering customers free samples of wellness products, creating a unique and immersive shopping experience. This strategy has allowed Ulta to connect with customers more dynamically, driving engagement and boosting brand visibility in their retail spaces.
Best Practices for Retail Digital Signage
Want your in-store digital signage to captivate shoppers? Follow these tips to take your displays from no way to can't miss.
Keep Content Fresh and Dynamic
Don't let your digital signs get stale. Update content constantly - rotate in new products, deals, videos, and images to maintain interest. Add animated graphics and transitions so the displays stay lively. A majority of retailers use digital signage because it commands attention and helps create an immersive experience. But you have to keep signs fresh or customers tune them out over time.
Focus on Visual Consistency
Keep your digital signage on-brand across all locations. Use your logo, colors, and fonts consistently everywhere. This helps cement your unique look in customers' minds.
Make sure displays match your brand guide for logo size, official hues, and typeface pairings - the works. Consistency builds trust and recognition.
Align Signage with Store Layout
Put thought into each screen's placement. Screens near entrances should convey your brand personality quickly. Deeper messaging works better in aisles where people linger longer.
Analyze foot traffic patterns and viewing angles so customers can't miss important signage. Not getting results in one spot? Try a new position before totally scrapping a display.
Conclusion
After leveraging digital signage, retailers can lift foot traffic, conversion rates, and transaction size. The dynamic nature of digital displays keeps your brand experience fresh and relevant.
Implement the tips in this post to optimize digital signage for your merchandising needs. Keep the content lively and consistent, focus on strategic placement, and get creative with engaging customers throughout their shopping journey.
Ready to elevate your retail experience? Try Look Digital Signage with a 14-day free trial and discover how easy it is to transform your in-store marketing strategy!
