E-commerce has given traditional retailers the opportunity to rethink their business models and to innovate around a particular added value: the customer experience. The store is thus transformed by taking advantage of all the possibilities offered by digitization.
Far from overwhelming them, e-commerce has given traditional retailers the opportunity to take stock of their situation, to rethink their model and to innovate around their added value:the customer experience.
Now, consumers no longer simply go to the store to buy an item that could be purchased in a few clicks on their smartphone, but also to take advantage, consciously or not, of what digital technology cannot offer: real sensations. The store as we know it is evolving rapidly and creating its own revolution by using all the possibilities offered by digital technology. At the heart of this new model, dynamic signage appears to be the key to opening a new world where data will be the main driver in the years to come.
When the point of sale experience is transformed
Over the past few years, the distribution sector suffered a shock. He was faced with a dilemma and shaken by e-commerce with a range of formidable weapons at his disposal: quick access to products everywhere and at any time: ultra-competitive prices, with the luxury of constantly receiving qualified information on the consumer (via cookies)... But, far from admitting defeat, physical retailers knew how to constantly receive qualified information on the consumer (via cookies)... But, far from admitting defeat, physical retailers knew how to react and focus on their own strengths, the human factor and customer service, offering the consumer new experiences.
Innovations have blossomed in stores, with a multitude of proposals and offers to attract and maintain contact with customers. And, because retailers have developed their own e-commerce applications, they have also sought to unify the experience between online and offline retail outlets, in order to reduce the opposition between these two worlds.
Digital signage on the front line
In this context, digital signage stands out as the main key to creating this complementarity relationship between digital and physical trade. Like no other media before, this technology is capable of capturing consumer attention at the point of sale without crossing the privacy line. By using a broadcast space that has a much greater impact than a smartphone screen, it fully immerses the customer in the brand's universe.
Unlike traditional advertising at the point of sale (POS, billboards, etc.), digital signage multiplies the sales force because it Get attention. And, unlike a touch terminal, where you have to search for information (pull), dynamic signage directs the message to the customer (push).
A more dynamic point of sale
However, not all screens are created equal. Streaming a looping video on a screen to create an in-store experience is simply not enough. This is the most basic level of digital signage:
Repetitive, non-contextualized, and rapidly outdated messages that provide no measure of their impact on the audience.
More recently, solutions have emerged that offer the possibility of truly Scaling the digital signage. Previously, 40 paper posters were replaced by one screen, now 40 screens can be installed and managed together at different points of sale, to provide the same brand experience, anywhere in the world. Remote control is used, making it possible to program the broadcast and therefore to anticipate it.
These new solutions, thanks to intelligent algorithms, make it possible to analyze the population and therefore to differentiate the messages. It is thus possible to broadcast separate messages on Wednesday or Saturday depending on the trafficking. However, there are some limitations to this system. For example, if you're offering ice cream promotions because it's summer but the weather is rainy or unusually cold, you won't have the required impact on your customers and the brand experience will be compromised.
Towards the advent of intelligent digital signage
When you know that a message Earn 20 points in your memory rate when broadcast in context, you can understand why a new generation of digital signage platforms is emerging on the market. Entirely focused on data, these solutions allow you to search for data sources that are available inside or outside the store. By retrieving data generated by sensors (stock levels, video counting, smart thermometer, etc.), these content management systems play the intelligence card to provide the holy grail of marketing: the “right, right place, right time” message.
By setting up their intelligent digital signage system, retailers can reach their customers with contextualized messages in real time. For example, the platform can be programmed to ensure that as soon as the outside temperature exceeds a certain number of degrees, the ice cream promotion is automatically started. In the end, we can even see that this smart display will make its own broadcast decisions based on the data collected and processed. The message will thus always be relevant to what the consumer is experiencing and what the brand is able to deliver at any time. Ice cream? Yes, but only if they are still in stock!
For this, the development ofIoT (Internet of Things) at the point of sale is essential. The richer the data collected, the more relevant digital signage will become, finally having a measurable and significant impact on the performance of the point of sale. Transforming your screens into a revenue center and an ROI (Return on Investment) is now finally within the realm of possibility!
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