Love is in the air … and you may see it coming to a digital screen near you! That’s right, it’s nearly time for Valentine’s Day, a key sales period for retailers, restaurants and cafes, hotels and other hospitality providers.
Whether it’s chocolates and flowers, jewellery, designer items, romantic dinners or hotel getaways, discretionary spending around the Valentine’s Day period is significant throughout Asia-Pacific and beyond. Australians, for example, are expected to spend USD $294million this year on Valentine’s Day gifts, with flowers, chocolates and jewellery topping the list. Spending in India is steadily increasing year-on-year, too, with people spending an average of between USD$66-$134 on the occasion. China leads the charge for loved-up spending in Asia-Pacific, with individual Valentine’s Day spending amounting to USD$274 on average.
Here we highlight five ways digital signage can help retailers, restaurants/cafes and hotels capitalise on this willingness to spend, and create a sense of buzz and excitement around this exciting celebration of love.
1. Advertise Valentine’s Day offers, specials and collections
Retail digital signage is an essential tool to maximise the impact of other marketing efforts for Valentine’s Day, including shop window displays, store decorations and online marketing. Digital signage solutions can be used to effectively promote Valentine’s Day retail offerings and drive more sales. Digital standees can capture shopper attention right at the entrance to the store, while videowalls and LED window signs can be used to attract shoppers, advertise special offers and showcase Valentine’s collections. By commencing Valentine’s Day-related content several weeks in advance of February 14, retailers can keep Valentine’s Day front of mind for shoppers with plenty of time for gift shopping.
2. Guide customers to the perfect Valentine’s gift
Interactive digital signage solutions can guide shoppers in their purchase, enable product discovery and use suggestive sell to help customers choose the best romantic gifts. Touchscreens, interactive kiosks and commercial retail tablets can allow access to store catalogues and inventory, as well as enabling shoppers to select, research and compare items. This solution works especially well for jewellery, perfume, clothing and designer gifts.
3. Increase average spend with point-of-sale digital signage
Once the customer is ready to buy, point-of-sale digital signage can also increase average spend by suggesting gifting add-ons, promotional items and related products. To take a jewellery store as an example, the customer may purchase an item using the self-service checkout, and during payment the screen may display the matching items in the collection or offer the option to purchase them as a package. Similarly, self-checkout kiosks in many retail settings can recommend related items and deals while the customer checks out, driving incidental purchases and incremental sales.
4. Promote Valentine’s Day dining experiences
Valentine’s Day is big business for many restaurants and cafes, from fine dining to fast food/quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and small independent cafes. Dining outlets can capitalise on digital signage to attract more customers and create buzz around Valentine’s Day. QSRs may use digital menu boards to advertise ‘Valentine’s Specials’, add-on sweet treats or ‘couple’s combos’, or discounted food delivery fees for those enjoying the day at home. Upscale cafes and restaurants may use entryway digital signage and sleek screens to welcome diners and create ambience, as well as to advertise special Valentine’s Day dining events and encouraging customers to book for the occasion. Finally, tablets stationed at tables can be used for self-ordering and to allow diners to select from special menus and dining packages.
5. Showcase Valentine’s Day accommodation deals
A romantic overnight or weekend getaway is often on the cards for those celebrating Valentine’s Day. Hotels can prepare for this and drive more stays by advertising special Valentine’s Day accommodation packages well ahead of time, through hotel lobby digital signage, strategically placed digital screens throughout the hotel and in high-traffic areas near elevators, and even through impactful outdoor digital signage. The promotion doesn’t need to stop once guests arrive for their romantic getaway: hotels can then use digital signage to entice guests to experience their own in-house facilities, like onsite restaurants and day spa services.
The gift of love … powered by Scala
Scala has helped many brands worldwide transform their marketing with innovative digital signage and marketing technology solutions and capitalise on crucial annual sales events like Valentine’s Day, Diwali, Christmas and more.
Discover Scala solutions for retail, restaurants/QSRs and hotels and casinos today.
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About the Author
Tara Nichols, Marketing Consultant at STRATACACHE Asia-Pacific, has a diverse background in marketing, social media and communications. Based in Australia, she supports STRATACACHE APAC’s social media and marketing activities, providing content ideation, writing and creative support services.
