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Even in the age of Zillow and online listings, the traditional street-facing real estate window display is still a powerful lead magnet in pedestrian-friendly cities. According to a 2022 report on the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 96% of potential home buyers search for properties online, yet many still stop to peer at brokerage window displays when walking by.
Digital real estate window displays are replacing static paper posters because they’re far more eye-catching – 63% of people say digital signs attract their attention.
Bright, dynamic content like slideshows and video loops not only grab passersby's interest but keep it as people linger to see “what’s coming up next” on the screen.
High-quality visuals help the brokerage make a strong first impression of being tech-savvy and professional, which appeals to today’s clients.
Window Displays: From Paper to Pixels
Real estate window displays have evolved from rows of paper flyers to interactive digital galleries. For decades, agents lined their windows with printed listing sheets and photo brochures, an effective but limited medium that could only showcase a handful of properties.
In the 2000s, illuminated LED light boxes, which made posters visible at night, became popular. Today, the trend is toward LED and LCD screens that dynamically cycle through hundreds of listings and media.
As you can imagine, this shift was driven by the need to provide real-time, interactive information. Modern buyers expect listings to be up-to-date; if a price drops or a home sells, they want to see it reflected immediately.
Digital displays deliver on this expectation. Agents can update content with a few clicks instead of reprinting posters. The result is that window content is always current and accurate, matching the speed of the market.
Types of Digital Displays That Work for Real Estate Agencies
Real estate professionals can choose from several types of digital signage to fit their window space and marketing goals. The most effective setups often combine multiple display types for maximum impact.
High-Brightness LED Screens
For street-facing windows, high-brightness LED or LCD screens are essential so that content stays visible in direct sunlight and under bright daylight.
These commercial displays can output 2,500 to 4,000 nits of brightness to overcome glare. That means listings and videos remain vivid and readable even on a sunny afternoon.
Interactive Touchscreens
Interactive property displays mounted in the window let pedestrians browse properties by themselves. They can scroll through home listings, filter by price or bedrooms, and even tap through photo galleries and virtual tours – all from the sidewalk.
Video Walls
For maximum “wow” factor, real estate companies are deploying multi-screen video walls in their offices or storefronts. In a window, a video wall can fill the entire frontage with stunning visuals.
Luxury brokerages have begun using high-definition video walls to play cinematic property tours, drone flyovers of estates, and 360° panoramic views of interiors. These large-scale visuals immerse viewers in the properties in a way paper listings never could. In fact, in the luxury market, LED video walls have become an indispensable tool to convey the scale and ambience of multimillion-dollar listings.
How to Make Your Digital Window Displays Stand Out
Getting a screen is just the first step – the content strategy is what makes a digital window display truly effective. Here are key tactics to ensure your screens captivate and convert passersby:
- Use Motion, Not Just Static Images: A short, looping video tour can showcase a home’s interior flow far better than a single shot, and 73% of homeowners believe video is more effective at attracting attention to a property. Even subtle motion, like an animated "Just Listed!" stamp or a cinemagraph (a mostly still photo with one moving element), will make people pause and look.
- Highlight Key Selling Points at a Glance: Window shoppers typically give a display only a few seconds of attention at first, so make those seconds count. Prominently feature the key facts and unique features that will pique interest. This means bold pricing, property type, and standout features on your digital cards. Make sure the text is large and high-contrast for readability from a distance.
- Schedule Content Based on Traffic Flow: You can program your digital signage to display the most relevant content at peak vs. off-peak hours. Effective day-parting of content ensures the right message hits the right audience at the right time.
- Add Social Proof – Use part of your screen real estate to display real customer testimonials, star ratings, or snippets of Google reviews right in your window. You can also show recent successes (“Sold in 2 Weeks!”) or metrics (“50+ families served this year”). This kind of social proof signals to passersby that your team is competent and well-regarded.
- Connect Online & Offline – One of the simplest and most effective ways bridge your brand’s physical and online experience is by adding QR codes on screen that viewers can scan with their smartphones. For each featured property, display a QR code that links directly to that listing’s page on your website (or a lead form).
Content Ideas for Real Estate Digital Displays
Show, Don’t Tell: High-Impact Visuals
In real estate, seeing is believing. Use your window screens to deliver stunning visuals that speak for themselves:
- Video Walkthroughs of Premium Properties: Feature short video tours of your most attractive listings. A 30-second montage walking through a luxury home (from the foyer to the backyard) can captivate buyers in a way static images can’t. Video walkthroughs allow viewers to virtually “step inside” right from the sidewalk.
- Animated “Just Listed” and “Price Reduced” Alerts: Make your window an up-to-the-minute news ticker for your listings. These animations draw the eye and create excitement around your inventory (“What’s new today?”). They also give a sense that things are happening and moving, which can spur action from buyers.
- Aerial Drone Footage of Prime Locations: If you sell properties in picturesque areas or want to promote the community, include drone videos in your content mix. A sweeping aerial shot over the neighborhood, the local park, downtown lights at night, coastline, or golf course views sets the scene and sells not just the home but the location’s allure.
Real-Time Data Feeds
- Live Property Availability Updates: Sync your estate agent window display with your website or MLS feed to show real-time listing updates. For example, a ticker or sidebar can scroll “New on Market” properties as soon as they’re listed or instantly mark a home as “Under Contract” on its slide when it happens.
- Real-Time Mortgage Rates and Market Info: Turn your display into a mini financial dashboard to position your agency as a trusted advisor. Streaming current mortgage interest rates, updated daily or intra-day, can catch the eye of potential buyers (e.g. “30-year avg: 6.5%, up 0.1 from yesterday”).
Interactive Buyer Engagement
- “Find Your Perfect Home” Kiosk Searches: Invite users to search for homes by criteria using a simple interface and then display matching listings on the big screen for them to scroll through.
- Polls and Questions: For instance, show a highlighted listing or a general question: “Would you live in [Neighborhood Name]?” with a short code to vote Yes/No. You could display live poll results after some time (“85% say Yes!”). While this might seem gimmicky, it serves the purpose of drawing people into contemplating specific homes or features, which increases emotional involvement. If you provide a QR code or text-in method to vote, you’re also capturing contacts for follow-up (“Thanks for voting, here are some homes in that area…”).
- Augmented Reality (AR) Virtual Staging Previews: AR can bring an extra “wow” factor to your window. One concept is virtual staging via AR, where passersby use their smartphone camera pointed at a photo on your screen or a code, and an app will overlay furniture or different décor onto the property image in real time.
How Look Digital Signage Helps
Look Digital Signage is a platform designed to make all the above easy and effective for real estate professionals. Here are ways Look can add value to your real estate window displays:
- Instant Content Updates: With Look’s digital signage software, you can update your window screens in seconds. From any internet-connected device, you log into a web dashboard to upload new photos, edit text, or push an entirely new set of listings. Changes go live on your displays immediately once you publish updates. This means if you sell a house or need to promote a sudden price cut, your window can reflect it right away.
- Multi-Location Content Management: Look has an all-in-one dashboard to control content for all your screens across different branches. You can schedule and publish content to any grouping of displays – whether it’s one specific office, all offices in a region, or every screen in the company – from the central platform.
- Pre-Designed Templates and Layouts: Look provides a collection of ready-made templates specifically created for real estate use cases. These templates are beautifully designed layouts for property listings, agent profiles, testimonial spotlights, and more. You simply drop in your property photos, edit text fields, and have a polished, animated listing display in seconds.
Look Real Estate Clients Use Digital Storefronts
Florin Partners (Stockholm, Sweden) – Florin Partners, a real estate agency in Stockholm, wanted a dynamic way to showcase their listings. They installed two screens in the window to display infographics, statistics, and videos about their properties. Using Look DS, they can easily update content from anywhere. “It’s so user-friendly that everyone on our team can update the displays themselves,” says co-founder Jonathan. The seamless setup and remote management have made their digital signage both efficient and engaging.
Why Digital Displays Are the Future of Real Estate
Digital window displays align perfectly with where the real estate industry is headed: a blend of high-tech presentation and personal, experiential service.
They allow brokerages to showcase more, tell a better story, and connect with clients in real time, all while projecting a modern image. And with Look DS signage, you get a central interface for managing your screens, no matter where you are.
Take the first step in transforming your real estate displays with a 14-day free trial of Look DS today.
