It’s a medium that has the potential to clinch it when it comes to shopper engagement in store. And at a time when consumer attention is the currency that rules brand battles, this could be that extra edge which drives a purchase decision. No wonder, dynamic digital displays are fast emerging as important investments for retailers, as they seek to craft immersive shopping environments for their customers. 

A billion dollar industry 

According to an IMARC report, the Indian digital signage market size is projected to exhibit a growth rate of (CAGR) of 15.50% during 2024-2032 and retail is among the top list of applications for digital signage.  As Venkatesh Sanjeeva, Director - CEO at Radiant Synage Pvt Ltd, tells Retail4Growth, speaking about the digital signage industry as a whole, “This year India is looking at a billion-dollar industry when it comes to digital signage. The biggest growth drivers would be availability of quality products, right support, partners who can understand client needs, and of course availability of right immersive content.” 

While Radiant Synage works with a diverse set of clients in the retail and OOH space, their mainstay is retail. As Venkatesh points out, “Today, every retailer looks for creativity. There is a need to make every store as distinctly different as possible.” He cites the example of a retail client for whom the company handled 200 stores way back in 2017. “They saw an increase of 33% in footfall because of digital signage. Also, their digital signage system is integrated with their ERP system, their POS, and stock management, so there is greater efficiency in their processes.”   

In retail, the company’s engagement starts right from the beginning - from defining the type of screen to be used in the store, its shape, size and brightness, to its location and placement and the type of content to be played on it. 

As Venkatesh explains, “Every retail store has its own challenges, and retailers usually want something specific - like a designer video wall, a circular screen on a pillar, etc. They also need enticing content playing in their stores. So, there is no end to creativity when it comes to digital signage; anything can be customised as per requirements.  But the right content on the right hardware is crucial.” As he points out, today the retail industry is also increasingly working with AI for customer identification and predictive analysis. So there is a lot that these dynamic screens can do when managed strategically.    

Bridging gaps 

But a question that does come up in the context of digital signage is whether this medium’s potential is understood clearly enough by retailers. And more importantly, are they asking the right questions as they seek to leverage their spends on digital signage – questions in terms of the right screen size, resolution, aspect ratio, brightness, the content, etc? After all, this is an investment that has many components working together and can deliver results only when done right. 

According to Venkatesh Sanjeeva, Director - CEO at Radiant Synage Pvt Ltd, retailers today are much more aware of what they need and why, in the context of digital signage, but there are still many gaps in the understanding of how it really works, especially since there are many aspects to it, and the eco-system has different entities working in silos.  It was in fact this need for a single stop point destination that could cater to retailers’ complete digital signage requirements that drove the genesis of Radiant Synage.   

Venkatesh explains it further, “When we initially started this business, we saw that all the segments in this eco-system were working separately. There were OEMs on one side who were focused only on supplying the product – the installation had to be handled by someone else. Other components like brackets, the media player and the software again had to be sourced from someone else. Plus, there are so many things to consider during and post-installation, it was all quite challenging for a retailer. It ended up becoming a process of trial-and-error for them. That is when we realised there was a need for someone like us - neutral partners, who could be with them throughout their entire digital signage journey.” 

This journey includes many stages – from finding the right hardware suppliers, the right software solution providers and content creators, to deciding on the shape, size and location of the screen, its brightness, resolution, and much more. Radiant Synage thus entered the space as a one-stop shop for a business’ digital signage needs, offering a comprehensive range of services and customized solutions for diverse verticals. The company works with different OEMs, but also offers only-installation services and other customised offerings, as per client specification and needs. The company also offers training in software usage, content publishing/ management, etc. As Venkatesh points out, the idea is to enable clients own the product. 

So, is there a quick checklist of do’s and don’ts when it comes to planning and having digital signage in stores? Venkatesh offers the following tips that could help retailers: 

• Look at your store like how a customer would look at it and accordingly plan the placement of your digital signage screens/video walls – whether behind the counter, as shelf displays or as ‘lift and learn’ tool, etc. 

• The kind of displays you choose will depend on the kind of store you have – size, customer profile, its spatial dynamics, among other factors. 

• A common mistake is not paying enough attention to the hardware to be used. Consult and seek expert opinion before choosing the right one, instead of going with a pre-decided one.  

• There are many commercial LCD-LED displays available today that come with different features and warranties. Choose the ones that meet your requirements and which help with energy efficiency so power costs can be managed well.  

• Brightness: Brightness of the screen plays a very important role and here again it depends on the placement of screen in the store, the amount of natural light it receives, etc. 

• Content – No doubt, content is the king here and the important thing to note is that content and hardware have to be a perfect marriage. Today display content can be manned with a common Smart Player and customised according to location of the screens.  So having the right content management system is critical, especially when running content across multiple stores.  Also, if managing content across multiple screens in different locations is challenging, then it can be managed smartly through cross-selling -- using the same screen to promote other stores.    

Well, a dynamic medium obviously needs a dynamic approach - one where creativity, functionality and business imperatives can go together. And it starts with defining requirements and then finding the right partner who can meet them.    

Pics Courtesy: Radiant Synage