5 Examples of Digital Signage for Coffee Shops/Cafes

The coffee shop and cafe business is highly competitive. If you are running a small business, you will not only have other small cafes and coffee shops to compete with, but you will also have to compete with multinational brands like Starbucks which have millions to throw at marketing and product development.

So, if you are running a coffee shop or a cafe, you will surely want to be looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. Of course, having steller coffee is a plus, but a coffee shop is just as much about the atmosphere, the vibe, and the customer experience as it is about the beverages and food that you serve.

One of the absolute best ways for your coffee shop to stand out is to use the revolutionizing tool of digital signage. There are so many different uses that optimize so many facets of the cafe, and in turn, the customer experience, that it is no wonder that many successful and aspiring businesses have started to look more closely at this technology.

In this article, we will give you the complete lowdown on digital signage for coffee shops so you can start implementing a digital signage system in your own coffee shop or cafe (and start reaping the benefits!).

We begin with an overview of what digital signage is and what is needed to get a digital signage system up and running in your establishment. Next, we go over some of the general benefits that coffee shops and cafes can expect from implementing digital signage functionality, and we end the article with five tried and true examples of effective ways you can use digital signage at your coffee shop or cafe.

What is Digital Signage

Digital signage refers to the use of digital screens, such as flat-screen televisions, LED walls, interactive kiosks, and tablets, in conjunction with a digital signage solution, which includes digital signage hardware and software, templates, and playlist functionality, to display digital content.

The type of digital content a digital signage solution enables you to show on your digital signs is incredibly diverse and versatile and can have outstanding visual appeal. Types of content can include social media walls with real-time social media feeds, eye-catching images, text, digital menu boards, animations, videos, apps, wayfinding content, and so much more!

With so many uses and such a high degree of functionality, there is no wonder that businesses around the globe are hoping onto the trend at full speed. The best part is that digital signage, when applied correctly, can truly bring about some outstanding results that both your bottom line and customers will feel.

So what is needed to set up a digital signage system?

The Digital Signage Set-up

Luckily, getting a digital signage system set up is relatively simple, especially if you get a user-friendly digital signage solution like that offered by Loop TV. In what follows we will briefly go over all the tools you will need for a digital signage system.

The first thing that you will need is a digital display or multiple digital displays. These can range anywhere from TVs, to LCD video walls, to tablets, to billboards. If you are trying to set up digital signage for your coffee shop or cafe, you likely won’t need to make use of something as big as a billboard, but you may very well take advantage of multiple screens of multiple sizes in a strategic way to employ your digital signage most effectively.

The next thing that you will need is a wall mount for your digital signs. Wall mounts are great because they make the digital signs more visible to your customers and save valuable floor space. Moreover, unless you are using a digital signage kiosk, mounted screens simply look more professional than screens that are placed on the floor.

The final step is getting a good digital signage solution. Digital signage solutions are generally split up into two categories. The first is cloud-based digital signage. With a cloud-based digital signage solution, you will do things like content management, playlist curation, and image display through a remote server belonging to the solution’s company that you will have access to through the cloud.

Typically, these kinds of solutions will charge an ongoing monthly or yearly fee for their services and your use of their server space. Alternatively, the second option is a hardware-based digital signage solution. With this option, you will be sent a physical-digital signage media player with accompanying software with all the templates and functionality you need for on-base content management, content creation, playlist curation, and content display.

You will have to decide for yourself which of these two options gel best with your establishment and workflow. After getting all the hardware and digital signage solution set up, you should be all set for displaying visually pleasing images of espressos, specialty coffees, and whatever else you decide to put up on your screens.

General Benefits of Digital Signage for Coffee Shops and Cafes

1. More foot traffic

People are simply way too used to (and bored) with static signs with static images. If a store has a static sign, this simply won’t make your store stand out from the rest. But it is so important not to let this happen.

The sign in front of your store or the signs in your store windows are like the first impression that a potential customer gets from your store, and we all know how important first impressions are. It takes people hardly any time to decide if they are interested in a store or not, and with so many coffee shops and cafes available, a bad or indifferent first impression likely means that that potential customer is going to take their business elsewhere.

With digital signage, you can make the first impression a good and memorable one. With digital signage functionality to make eye-catching signs with mouth-watering images, customers will take note, and this will likely increase the amount of foot traffic that you get in your store.

There is another factor to consider when talking about good first impressions. If there is a good first impression, and the customer thinks that your coffee shop or cafe looks like it would be good, they are far more likely to try your drinks with a much more favorable initial attitude. That your coffee will taste good to them is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

They think your coffee and other offerings will be good because of the great first impression and so, when they taste it, they will find that it indeed tastes good to them. Once you start putting up your digital signage, don’t be surprised if you start seeing a great increase of regulars at your coffee shop or cafe.

2. Optimized atmosphere

Using digital signage in your cafe can really give your establishment a cutting-edge aesthetic and atmosphere. In the digital age, hip cafe customers like to see that the place they are spending their time is adapting to new technologies to optimize the customer experience. If you choose the right digital signs and imagery, you can add a whole new vibe to your cafe space and your customers will surely take note.

3. Levelled-up in-store marketing

While digital signage is incredible for increasing foot traffic, there is so much more to the customer journey, of which entering the establishment is only one part. The marketing can’t stop once the customers are inside. Using digital signage you can upsell and promote products, you can highlight specials, and do calls to action. All of this will likely lead to your customers spending more at your establishment which means more profit for you.

4. More customer engagement

One of the major benefits of digital signage is that it is an incredible tool for increasing customer engagement. While one of our concrete examples below details one incredible strategy for increasing customer engagement, suffice it to say for now that digital signage has revolutionized the way that businesses foster customer engagement, and customer engagement is one of the greatest tools for fostering loyal customers and regulars.

5. More sales

All of these benefits that we have talked about so far really come down to this final benefit of digital signage. With increased foot traffic, an optimized atmosphere, great in-store marketing, and more customer engagement, you are bound to see a great ROI.

5 Examples of Coffee Shop/ Cafe Digital Signage

1. Digital Menu Board

The digital menu board is simply one of the best uses of digital signage for coffee shops and cafes. A digital menu board allows you to showcase your items where everyone can see them. Moreover, you can add mouth-watering pictures of your delicious beverages, which will often lead to successful upselling.

A digital menu board is also better than paper menus because they are so much easier to update. With paper menus, you have to print a new menu whenever a menu item changes, but digital menus can be updated in almost no time at all.

Another benefit of digital menus is that they can reduce wait time and perceived wait time. One of the most unpleasant parts about going to any kind of food or beverage establishment is waiting around for your turn. With a bright and colorful digital menu board, you can entertain your customers while they are waiting in line, and this will reduce the perceived wait time. People who are entertained experience time more quickly than those who are bored.

Moreover, digital menu boards can reduce real wait time too. When all of your items are clearly displayed on a digital screen, people will usually already know what drink or food item they want when they reach the register. This means the ordering process will go faster which means that the line will move faster, and the wait time will be reduced.

All of these benefits of digital menu boards can really improve the customer experience.

2. Highlight Special Offers

Digital signage allows you to use eye-catching graphics to display items that you are trying to sell. They can also highlight new products, such as seasonal beverages. Traditionally, a barista would have to tell customers about specials and new products, but when it comes to the decision of whether or not to buy those products, a mouth-watering picture will often do a lot more than encouraging words.

3. Highlight Events

Of course, you can display other information on your digital signs, such as upcoming events that you might be hosting at your establishment. These will catch your customers’ eyes much better than a paper sign, and you will likely see an increase in people who attend your events.

4. Social Media Wall

A social media wall is a great way to foster customer engagement while also encouraging the spread of brand awareness. A social media wall shows a real-time feed of what people are posting about your store. If customers see that other people are posting about your store, it is more likely that they will post about your store as well. This will spread brand awareness and also foster a sense of customer engagement when they see their own posts popping up on the social media wall.

5. Company Information

People love coffee, and people love to know about where their coffee is coming from. People often feel a sense of attachment to the place where they get the beverages that make their days better, and fostering a feeling of intimacy between customer and establishment is incredibly important for creating loyal customers.

One great way that you can give your customers more insight into your business is to have slideshows with information about the company’s founders, their mission, where they get their coffee from and so much else.

Giving Your Coffe Shop a Digital Caffeine Boost

There are so many reasons why a coffee shop or a cafe would want to invest in digital signage to increase the success of their business. Digital signage can revolutionize the way a business markets, how it interacts with customers, how it markets to customers, and how it creates an atmosphere that improves the customer experience. If you want your coffee shop or cafe to stand out, you may want to consider digital signage as your next step.