Digital signage has a big impact in retail marketing since it can communicate brand messages more effectively and enhance brand experience. Incorporating digital signage has been a big driving force in bringing sales for retailers. It is a strong catalyst in driving more footfall towards stores and building up a loyal brand following.
The trends in digital signage are ever changing. For 2019, digital signage focuses on creating new means of using it to fulfill consumer demands. Here are the dominating trends in digital signage for 2019.
Artificial intelligence – Artificial Intelligence has been a much-discussed subject throughout 2018 and is poised to develop even more this year. It is expected that in 2019 AI and machine learning will be seen in action. This does not mean that AI will develop in digital signage only. Instead, it will have a significant impact on digital marketing in general and will benefit several industries.
Among all the benefits of artificial intelligence in marketing, a major one is the ability of AI to gather data which provides the information needed to make an effective strategy. Using AI to collect data gives retailers more opportunities for personalisation and increased interactivity with consumers. Indeed, the increased use of artificial intelligence this year is all set to unlock more possibilities in the field.
Interactivity –Interactive marketing campaigns are all the rage right now and are the best way to reach the end consumer. Having interactive campaigns empowers the consumer by allowing them to browse through the products and take stock of all items. Certain advanced aspects of digital signage benefit greatly from interactive marketing campaigns. In the coming years, interactivity will be seen in many innovative implementations.
Richer Personalisation – Personalisation, like interactivity, is reaching out to the consumer on an individual level. It is all about understanding your clients and giving them personalized brand messages which will make them your loyal customers.Traditional mall directories where everybody sees the same display is long gone. These days the use of technology allows people to streamline their search bypassing information they do not require to immediately search for what they need. Hyper-personalised digital signage tracks a user’s buying patterns and modifies the shopping experience to match individual needs. Personalisation in mobile apps works with existing signage to relay alerts on relevant new merchandise or deals. Retailers can make use of consumer data to pick out the best products or videos that match the surrounding signage and give the consumers more tailor-made suggestions.
The options in personalisation have increased due to AI and increased interactive strategies. Using personalisation to attract customers is a tactic while AI and interactivity are the tools used to implement it.
A-commerce – Customers these days demand personalisation, empowerment, freedom and technology when making purchases. Their demands can be met in several ways one of which is automatic commerce or A-commerce. Automatic commerce streamlines the payment process by making it automated. Customers pick what they want, the purchase is scanned online using a phone and the payment is completed with the bill sent to the customer’s email.
A-commerce makes purchasing faster and removes the hassle of standing in a queue to have someone checkout your purchases. The benefit of A-commerce is to enable programming purchases and make predictions based on a user’s previous purchase patterns.
Product recognition – Interactive product recognition is a trend from 2018 that is still expected to prevail in retail this year. This technology allows customers to scan a product themselves and the relevant information will then be displayed on their screen. Interactive product recognition uses technologies such as QR codes and RFID chips to reach out to consumers with the necessary information. Taking this technology a step further is direct product recognition using touchscreens. This technique attaches a marker chip to the actual product. A display detects the location of the product and then relays all the applicable information to the consumer. Using touch operations, users can even interact with the display.
The Year of Video – Video is a powerful form of communication and is one of the key media in the digital ad industry. In 2019 we can surely expect videos to be one of the most dominant trends in digital signage. Videos reach out to people on all social media platforms and are one of the most effective marketing tools.
Virtual Assistants to drive Sales – Virtual assistants in retail help shoppers to personalise their experience. These assistants are interactive and informative, relaying information on deals, sales, offers and special events effectively to the customers, thereby boosting sales. Through the use of AI and interactivity, virtual assistants deliver a more dynamic shopping experience to the customers.
Facial Recognition – Finally, using facial recognition gives the retailers more insight into their customer base allowing them to streamline floor layouts and manage inventory. Facial recognition makes use of cameras, sensors, interactive displays and analytics software to determine whether an intended customer is engaging with the target merchandise. Using this kind of digital signage retailers can identify key details about a shopper and deliver content that is relevant to the consumer’s preferences and demographics. This can also help in reducing thefts.
In conclusion, using digital signage goes beyond advertising to gauge customer preferences and caters to their specific needs directly. There are several upcoming marketing tools which are shaping the future of shopping and with digital signage definitely being a future strategy, it is wise to implement it.