Why digital signage is the future of retail

Germán Talon, CTO of nsign.tv, omnichannel communication platform that stores, Organizes, program and broadcast measurable content on any digital device, provides the keys to this statement.

before 2020 and that the main word of the year (keyword) Was pandemic, we had been talking about digital transformation for a long period of time, of the retail apocalypse, of omnichannel, of the customer at the center of the business (customer centric) and other topics that covered social networks, conferences, events and fairs.

Taking advantage of the pull, many experts and opportunists began to appear who, using all these terms, tried on the one hand to predict the future of retail and, on the other, provide the less technological retail with tools to fight against the large digital platforms that we all know, especially Amazon.

After predicting a terrible fate for retail, let's say traditional, the end of shopping malls and the "transform digitally or die", the pandemic arrived and took away all the forecasts that had been heard about it.

But it turns out that with the pandemic came the security measures., capacity controls and the massive growth of online commerce. With the latter grew the business (even more) of logistics companies and delivery and, in the end, certain sectors saw how not only increased their business via the online channel, but also in physical establishments, For example, supermarkets.

New ways of communicating

It is at this time when physical establishments begin to look for ways to communicate to their customers that they must wear a mask., who should use gel, that they must keep the distance, that the capacity is full and they must wait, and even indicate the Riders if your order is already ready for pickup.

And how do you communicate all of this in a physical space?? Well, in several ways: or with employees repeating hundreds of times each day "please wear the mask well", putting up posters all over the establishment, putting guards or store managers to count and discount people, or go, digitally transforming all these processes thanks to digital signage.

Using any type of display, of any size, strategically located in physical establishments can inform customers of the capacity in real time, of anti-COVID measures, of the shifts of the Riders, of marketing communications and any type of information that a retailer (retailer) wants to offer its customers and employees.

All this drastically reducing the amount of paper used in making countless informative posters and with an ability to impact the physical space with the same instantaneity with which it is possible to impact the visitors of a web page or a mobile application.

So far I have been talking about the past and how digital signage has helped many retailers to communicate more effectively to your customers and employees. now, let's talk about the future.

Just one last mention of the past: at the end of the 90 and principles of 2000, companies only wanted a website because "you had to have it".

currently, with digital signage exists, sometimes, a similar relationship: we have to put digital signage because you have to have it, in the same way that omnichannel must be implemented, digital transformation and the rest of keywords that are appearing in the media. If this is the argument to implement a digital signage ecosystem, we are not doing well.

The future of retail

Digital signage is the future of retail because it allows blurring the border between off and online. With a well-implemented digital signage system we can collect inputs from customers who visit a physical establishment, Analyze, process them and display the most appropriate messages, at the most opportune time, to the relevant hearing.

What does this sound like?? Sounds like how the retailers interact with their customers in the online channel. Digital signage, Repeat, well implemented, allows you to closely resemble a physical establishment to a website or an e-commerce.

And this is where digital signage stands as the future of retail: if during the predictions about the retail apocalypse there was only talk of the disappearance of the offline and the triumph of the online, digital signage introduces a third player in the match: digital establishments or, as dictated by the new keyword created in this regard, the phygital, term I personally don't like, but that allows us to glimpse correctly what I am referring to.

Retail 'phygital'

And what is a retail like? phygital? It is a physical establishment that, thanks to a well-implemented digital signage system with a coherent strategy, allows you to create and measure the customer journey of customers during their visit to a physical establishment and, In addition, use this same information with the online channel.

Oh, surprise! omnichannel and digital transformation thanks to digital signage. Summarizing: the future of retail.

Landing a little bit all these ideas, let's go to an example: a customer comes to an establishment to make a purchase. At the entrance there is a monitor that indicates the available capacity.

At that time the capacity is not at its maximum and you are allowed to enter. Inside, ask for a turn on a display scanning with your mobile a QR code that takes you to a website (or app) informing you of the shift and the average waiting time.

As you head towards the corresponding section, is observing in displays of various sizes (from electronic labels to huge and eye-catching Led panels) the different promotions, offers and commercial information available at that time in the establishment itself.

Arriving at the section of interest, a display shows you the current shift, while your mobile sends you a notification announcing that soon you will have to be attended. Once the order has been placed, you go to the line of boxes where you are shown in which one you are responsible for making the payment.

Throughout the tour, cameras and sensors have been collecting information about the customer, always respecting privacy laws, and have been sending it to the corresponding departments for analysis, just like a website does, how to offer the best experience to customers.

Digital signage is the future of retail, and it's here.

Germán Talon

CTO of nsign.tv

 

 

 

 

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