The opportunity to engage customers in the aisles and influence market basket size with dynamically served content would appear like a simple business case, but the reality for most retailers who have deployed digital signage is that the media is much more complex than other marketing channels.
In an attempt to offset costs and solve the need to fill their screens with content, many retailers have turned to one of hundreds of 
different digital signage networks. The downside of outsourcing digital signage, however, is that the network is often disconnected from other core technologies in the store.
That may be about to change, however, as leading tech powerhouses like Microsoft, Intel, Cisco and NEC have recently unveiled new digital signage offerings which promise to make it easier to integrate digital signage into the store’s network, and connect the digital screens to core functions like POS, Inventory Management and Video Analytics.
NEC recent introduced its leading-edge in-store advertising and communications platform, which promises to combine the power of existing Point-of-Sale (POS) and inventory data, with customer information and third-party data sources, to create “real-time information and highly targeted messages.”
NEC's Dynamic Digital Signage is positioned as an “end-to-end” solution providing an alternative to “static” signage and aims to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time such benefits with dynamic messages relevant to individual customers.
The additional benefits touted by the NEC integrated solution include the ability to suggest add-on merchandise to increase average ticket size, integration with both POS and inventory management systems, and customized messaging for local storefronts.
Powerful Parternship
Looking to grab a slice of a market that reached $3.9 billion in total revenue in 2009 and is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 20% annually, according to IMS Research, Microsoft and Intel recently announced a strategic alliance to deliver a platform optimized for the digital signage industry.
Running on the Windows 7-based Windows Embedded Standard 2011 operating system and powered by 2010 Intel Core microarchitecture, the first product from the partnership is a 7-foot-6-inch multi-user, multi-touch Intel Intelligent Digital Signage Concept.
The digital interface features a virtual brick-and-mortar store setting where customers may use the multi-touch holographic screen to explore merchandise, find out about promotions, submit feedback on products, read customer reviews, view past purchasing histories and share what they have discovered with their friends via social media and mobile phone integration.
One of the key components of the Microsoft/Intel product is the video analytics capabilities it provides, which enable advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns through built-in camera technology, which analyzes users’ physical attributes and then generates tailored ad displays. As a viewer looks at the system screen, the built-in camera technology analyzes data such as gender and age, audience composition, time-of-day and other criteria, which enable the system to display tailored content and graphics based on demographics.
To help drive sales through the digital platform, retailers can superimpose images such as coupons and sales promotions next to the product visualizations on the glass, designed specifically to improve the customer’s shopping experience.
Showcasing the new digital signage platform at the recent NRF show, Kevin Dallas, GM of the Windows Embedded Business Unit at Microsoft, predicted the platform will enable digital signage device makers to create rich, connected user experiences “that can be managed remotely and deployed anywhere from quick service restaurants and airports to hotels, cruise ships and retail stores.”
A Digital Play
Expanding its Digital Media Suite (DMS), Cisco System announced it is working on a pilot with Harrah’s Operating Company, a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, on what it called “the first interactive digital signage solutions.” Using the Cisco DMS, now supporting touch capability, Harrah’s will pilot an interactive signage solution as part of the hospitality giant’s strategy to create a more personalized guest experience.
The addition of touch capabilities to Cisco’s Digital Signage solutions is designed to improve the customer experience in hospitality and retail areas through delivery of services directly to customers, reducing wait times, and sharing up-to-date schedules and news, where and when customers need them most.
Cisco also used the recent NRF Show to showcase the power of integrating video analytics into a digital network. Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group pointed to six areas where video analytics can help retailers improve conversions as well as operating efficiency:
- strengthen loss prevention and security,
- optimize staffing and ability to approach customers sooner,
- improve product availability and ensure the right product assortment,
- strengthen processes and employee productivity,
- increase display and digital advertising effectiveness, and
- gain customer insights and improve store layout.
The IBSG group projected video analytics could help retailers realize increases to annual contribution range from 0.5% to 5% with payback in 10 to 18 months. Once a retailers is able to realize the benefits from all six opportunity areas, the Cisco group estimated the benefit could increase the net margins of a typical retailer by up to 9% per year.
While other areas of advertising and marketing are declining, digital signage is growing. In fact, in a recent study conducted by the digital marketing firm Razorfish, 65% of consumers reported that “a digital brand experience has changed their opinion of the brand,” and 97% of the consumers in the study stated that the digital experience influenced purchase decisions.
