Customer experience has been shown to be the most significant factor in retailer success. Research by PWC highlights that more than 80% of American shoppers are willing to pay a premium for a better customer experience.
Here, we explore how digital signage and retail marketing technology are the key to enhanced customer experiences.
Connection with customers through interactive signage
Engaging and informative digital signage is a critical element of the customer experience today. As digital signage has evolved to become more interactive, it has also created more opportunities to connect with customers. No longer just an attractive way to display information, digital retail technology in the form of interactive screens and kiosks allows customers to engage with retailers and brands across multiple touchpoints.
Interactive kiosks in retail outlets can be used effectively in assisted selling to enhance in-store service, delivering accurate product information and allowing customers to compare details between products and services. Interactive kiosks also allow customers to engage more deeply with the brand and explore independently. Assisted selling is especially helpful when buying and comparing high value products. By making the experience customer-centric, retailers can increase the perception of “time well spent” at their brick-and-mortar locations while building a more personal relationship with their shoppers. This leads to brand loyalty and increased perceived value of the brand or store.
Create personalised experiences with customer insights
Information is power, and customer insights are a key piece of the customer experience puzzle because they enable deeper personalisation of the shopping experience. Some research reveals that as many as 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognises them by name, recommends options based on past purchases, or knows their purchase history. Analytics gained through interactive kiosks, low-cost in-store sensors and AI technologies help enhance and personalise customer experience, empowering retailers to learn deeply about shopping preferences and behaviours. Today, sensor technology gives retailers unmatched insight into their shoppers’ behaviors and patterns, leading to hyper relevant location-based marketing within the store.
Digital signage helps curate a more impressive in-store experience
Enhanced retail experiences may incorporate a variety of different marketing technology concepts. Large-format digital signs quickly capture attention, and may display products and offers or deliver engaging ‘infotainment’ combined with sales messaging. High-impact creative content and visuals draw shoppers into the store with a secondary benefit of reinforcing brand recognition and visibility.
Creating intelligent signage ecosystems
Retailers often have multiple digital signs spread throughout their store — or multiple stores — that are connected to each other and controlled from a central system. This makes them part of a larger “smarter signage” intelligent ecosystem. Through insightful analytics retail marketers can now gain a complete overview of the shopper journey and how customers discover products in the store, which enables them to map digital signage across store zones, departments, and different store locations in a way that complements the customer journey.
Conclusion: The future of retail is digital
In the new era of retail, digital signage and interactive retail marketing technology will prove to be crucial in extending the customer journey, providing ongoing opportunities for customer connection both within and beyond the walls of brick-and-mortar retail stores. The winners will be the brands who can leverage technology to provide a truly omnichannel experience across all touchpoints.
Case study: Discover how Flight Centre Australia used Scala’s digital signage solutions to integrate its 300 retail stores worldwide and engage savvy and connected world traveller clientele.
Sources:
· https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/library/consumer-intelligence-series/future-of-customer-experience.html
· https://v12data.com/blog/50-statistics-about-retail-marketing-and-consumer-shopping-trends/
