The Benefits of Digital Signage for Supermarkets
Digital signage is a revolutionary tool when it comes to in-store marketing and employee communications for businesses. There are so many reasons why businesses of all stripes are integrating digital signage systems into their brick-and-mortar stores and offices.
One of the reasons why digital signage is so powerful is that it is credibly dynamic and can be used in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes. One setting in which digital signage can be particularly effective is the supermarket.
Supermarkets that take full advantage of this technology can benefit in countless ways. In this article, we will give the full scoop on what digital signage is, what is required for a digital signage system, and the benefits that supermarkets can get from employing digital signage in their stores.
What is Digital Signage?
In general terms, digital signage is the use of digital signage software and hardware and one or more digital screens to display content to customers or employees. The type of content that a business can display on its digital signs is extensive. With digital signage, you can display television, videos, images, text, animations, social media feeds, interactive apps, wayfinding aids, digital menu boards, promotions, testimonials, and so much more!
Moreover, digital signage solutions like Loop TV allow you to schedule your digital signage playlist to display different types of content at other times of day and on different days of the week. So, if you want your digital signs to display something during breakfast time and something else during dinner, then this can all be programmed to switch at the desired time automatically.
With such a dynamic tool, it is no wonder that digital signage has a lot of potential benefits for supermarkets. Want to know what those benefits are? Well just keep reading.
The Benefits of Supermarket Digital Signage
1. Draw More Foot Traffic With Eye-Catching Digital Displays
There are a lot of supermarkets that potential customers have to choose from. Many supermarkets are even located near each other. Because of this, it is incredibly important that supermarkets make the most out of the marketing tools available to them to draw more customers into their stores.
One of the best ways to generate more foot traffic to your store is to use outdoor digital signage. With digital signage, you can create content that is far more eye-catching and visually pleasing than what you might be able to do with a traditional static sign. Your sign can make use of videos, animations, images, and much more to get the attention of people passing by.
With these types of media, you can display branded content, tell the public about some of the best deals they can find in your store, and ultimately, make the case for why people should choose your supermarket over another one.
The signage outside of a supermarket is what makes the first impression on a potential customer. In many aspects of life, the first impression is absolutely crucial, and when it comes to stores in which people buy products, the first impression is especially important.
Not only will visually pleasing signs draw more people into the store but after the initial good impression, they will be predisposed to view your store and your goods in a more favorable light.
2. Increase Impulse Purchases
Currently, the average person spends $314 per month on impulse purchases, and a lot of that money spent is on food. Supermarkets can maximize impulse spending by using digital signage to make high-impact calls to action and highlight great deals on projects.
Unlike traditional signage, you can maximize the effectiveness of calls to action with delicious images of the food that is on sale. And even if you do not use images, you can make a far greater impression on customers by using eye-catching text and animations to highlight your products on sale.
3. Increase Point of Purchase Sales
This could potentially be included in the previous section, but it's quite an important point, and thus, deserves its own section. When customers are waiting in line before checkout, they are usually exposed to numerous small items in or around the checkout aisle. These point-of-purchase sales can add up to a significant profit for a supermarket.
Most point-of-sale purchases are impulse buys, and this is where digital signage can really make a difference. If there are specific products that you are trying to sell, then highlighting them with digital signage, potentially with a call-to-action can significantly increase the number of customers that buy that product.
4. Increase Customer Loyalty
One of the best ways to increase customer loyalty is by getting people to sign up for loyalty or rewards programs. However, many supermarkets do not advertise these programs in a way that maximizes the number of shoppers that join their loyalty programs. Typically, there might be a few static signs that people simply pass by without really seeing them.
Another common method is for the cashier to ask if the person checking out wants to join the loyalty program. But in these cases, many shoppers, having already reached the checkout line, are simply ready to get out of the store, and even if they might be interested in a loyalty program, many will simply feel like they don’t have the time to listen to all that is involved.
What is more, is that supermarkets increasingly depend on customers to take the initiative when it comes to signing up for loyalty programs because of the growing popularity of self-checkout aisles, where there is no opportunity for a cashier to inform people about the loyalty program.
This is where digital signage can help gain more members to loyalty programs. Unlike traditional signs, digital displays are sure to catch the attention of customers. You can display what is involved in the loyalty program, as well as where to sign up for it. With this practice, you will likely get more and more customers asking to join the loyalty program unprompted by cashiers.
5. Generate More Sales with Fresh Recipes and More
A great marketing strategy that many successful supermarkets are beginning to employ is to display recipes that customers might want to try for themselves. It's hard to imagine how this type of marketing would be effective without digital signage. Firstly, digital signage will allow you to display mouthwatering pictures or videos of the food that the customer can make by following the recipe.
Secondly, digital signage allows you to regularly update the recipes. If people keep seeing the same recipe every time they come to your supermarket, then people will simply start to ignore it. It's always good to keep your content fresh, and with high-quality digital signage solutions, this is not only possible but also easy!
6. Increase Customer Engagement with Social Media Feeds
It's always good to get customers engaged with your business. When customers feel engaged, their dwell time increases, and they are far more likely to become loyal customers. Digital signage allows you to display social media feeds, which is a great way to get customers engaged.
For example, you can use one or more of your digital screens to display posts that have tagged or mentioned your brand. If your customers see that other people are posting about your store, then they might feel encouraged to post about your store.
Additionally, you can display your business's social media feeds, showing that customers who follow these feeds can get updated through social media about deals and promotions. Many people don’t think about the social media feeds of supermarkets.
However, if they see the feed and see that you share great content, they will be much more likely to follow your accounts, giving you another channel through which you can market to them. In addition to social media, you can display polls and quizzes.
This is a fun way for customers to get engaged. For example, you could ask what types of products people are interested in seeing in your store. This is a great way to get customer feedback, and it also shows that you care about the input of your customers.
7. Optimize the In-Store Cafe Experience
Many supermarkets have cafes or bakeries where people can buy ready-made food to eat. These are great sources of revenue, which can be maximized when using digital signage to display digital menu boards. Restaurants of all kinds have begun to install digital menu boards and for good reason.
Digital menu boards have several advantages over traditional menus. Firstly, there is the possibility of displaying engaging content. For example, you could display mouthwatering images or videos of the food that people can eat. Moreover, digital menu boards are better than traditional menus because you can update them easily.
Instead of having to print out a new menu each time there is a change, you can simply log into your digital signage content management software and make the required changes in a matter of seconds. They also make changing the menu by the time of the day simple. You can schedule your digital signage playlist to show different menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Another benefit of digital menu boards is that they are often far more entertaining to look at, and for this reason, they can greatly decrease the perceived wait time that customers spend while in line.
No one likes to wait, especially when they are anticipating a delicious meal, so it's good to keep customers entertained to make the wait time feel like it goes by much faster than it would have without digital signage.
8. Streamline Employee Communications
Digital signage doesn’t need only to be shown to customers. In fact, digital signage can be an excellent way to communicate with employees and staff in a fast and efficient manner. Often, people can use digital signage to communicate far more effectively than through emails or texts. This is because it is eye-catching and can display both simple and complex information in a visual and comprehensible way.
Many benefits come with better communication with employees. For one, the employee experience is much better if they know exactly what they are supposed to do. A staff that is in the Loop TV will perform their jobs better. And when employees perform their jobs better, the business runs much more smoothly and the customer experience is greatly enhanced.
8. Develop an Alternative Revenue Stream with Advertisements
Finally, digital signage not only has the potential to help your business make more money through powerful and effective marketing. It can also be a source of revenue in itself. Brands know that a supermarket is a great place to reach key demographics, and for that reason, many companies seek out advertising space in the supermarket.
You can use some of your digital screens to display advertisements from other businesses, which can be a serious source of revenue. The fact is, most companies will not want to advertise in your supermarket with traditional signs. They know that traditional signs are too easy to pass over and that the likelihood of their advertisement having an impact will be minimal.
However, companies know that digital signage can draw the attention of customers, and so, if you have a digital signage system set up in your business, it is far more likely that you will find many companies that are looking to advertise in your space.
Digital Signage and the Bottom Line
As you can see from reading this article, there are so many benefits that a supermarket can get from integrating a digital signage system in its store. Digital signage hits all the marks of a revolutionary marketing tool. In addition to its benefits for marketing, it can also greatly improve employee communications.
These two things in conjunction mean that digital signage can add to your bottom line. And if that wasn’t enough, digital signage can also be an alternative source of revenue. All in all, digital signage is a critical tool for supermarkets in today's competitive environment.