Digital signage is still relatively new. It wasn’t that long ago we were all sticking paper signs to the wall and thinking that was it.

With that in mind, we’re digging into how digital signage can specifically benefit retail and how to easily see (and sell) the benefit of using digital screens in your store.

1. Drive traffic in

If we’re starting at the beginning, then one key benefit of retail digital signage is its ability to drive people into your store. Originally, it was only your odd Hollister here or there that employed the power of digital window displays. Now, it’s almost everyone. Our screen-obsessed world has been a big help. We’re naturally drawn to screens, and they catch our attention. Statistics show that 8/10 customers have entered a store because of a digital sign catching their interest. That’s a huge amount of shoppers who otherwise, may have walked right on by. Retail is one of the fastest growing areas adopting digital signage so to beat the competition; it’s well worth getting set up early.

2. Increase purchasing decisions

Next to almost any bank of tills you have a selection of items just waiting to catch your eye. In grocery stores, it’s candy bars and gum. In clothing stores, it’s often low ticket items like socks, hair ties or umbrellas. These are primarily impulse buys, a “sure I’ll have one” moment at the till. Yet, studies show that serving relevant information close to the point of purchase can also increase purchasing decisions. This is a great case for having digital screens set up throughout your store. A cleverly placed screen next to your sweaters, showing all of the information about where the material is from, how it’s ethically sourced, what it feels like to wear and so on could make the difference between one purchase or two. 44% of shoppers also admit to social media increasing purchasing decisions. With digital signage, you can easily add social media to your store’s displays. Which leads us onto…

3. Repurpose social media content

In retail, social media is a huge way to influence and entice shoppers. But it isn’t always easy. Creating effective social media content, rolling it out and getting people to “like” it can be difficult. With digital signage, it’s easy to repurpose social media content and get it in front of your audience without other distractions. With the Twitter search app, you can select just your feed, hashtag or phrase to show a live stream of tweets. The same with Instagram or a multi-channel social media dashboard. This gets rid of your competitors who are all online vying for your customer’s attention and places your content right under their noses.

4. Provide entertainment

According to a study by Urban Land Institute, 50% of millennial men and 70% of millennial women consider shopping a form of entertainment and something to share with friends and family. Digital signs are an obvious form of entertainment where you can share everything from social media to news, videos and dashboards. This feeds into the retailtainment trend and allows you to extend your brand throughout the store.

Digital signage doesn’t have to be boring either. You can have fun with customers, jump on real time marketing trends, use it for retail launches and more. When it’s easy to add content, it’s easy to think and test new ways to entertain your customers.

5. Increase digital presence

Retail brands invest heavily in their online digital presence but what about their in-store digital presence? It isn’t enough to offer a website and a bricks-and-mortar store. Digital signage joins up the digital presence happening online, throughout social media and so on and brings it into the physical environment. You can use your digital screens to show anything happening online. From tweets to a website, YouTube channel or even a social media dashboard. Don’t double up on your content, or leave your physical store trailing behind your digital one. Both deserve an awesome digital presence.

6. Gain more sales

Digital signs are great big beacons that help tell your customers what to do and where to go. This helps increase sales as customers feel confident in their shopping decisions; the digital screen told them to, after all. Digital signage in retail can be used to direct customers to specific products, upsell items, provide wayfinding to toilets or help points and even give emergency information. This reduces staff costs and places shoppers in charge of their own experience. What’s more, is that digital signs can be updated in seconds. This is the type of thing that makes the visual merchandising team very happy. When it’s easy to change the signage around your store, you can change the physical set up as often as you like.

7. Make products more available

An Accenture study found that 92% of shoppers surveyed said real time product availability would influence where they shop. Digital screens are a great way to catalog items and respond to peaks and troughs of specific products. Raining? Switch your playlist in a second to one that covers rainwear. Sudden heat wave? Use your screens to show that you still have an abundance of summer wear available. You can even do a countdown on the number of exclusive products you have left which is a great way to increase demand while in the moment.

8. Improve internal communications

Last but not least, you can also use digital signage to improve internal communications with staff. When you hand out a new health and safety manual how many staff members actually read it? They might sign the paper sure, but the important information that’s going to keep them (and others) safe often gets missed. With digital screens, you can easily repeat this information in key areas such as employee break rooms, staff areas, store rooms and more. This gives employees multiple reference points and the chance to absorb ambient content in a more relaxed setting. Repetition increases the ability to retain information, and a quick video on a digital screen is far more approachable than a printed leaflet or shouty email. The rapid-fire pace of digital signage also means your staff members aren’t faced with out of date signs or notices pinned to the staff board. When they know that they’re only served relevant, timely information, they become much more receptive to it.