Retailing has changed from a product-centric business to a customer-centric business.  Shopping is now a user experience where services and products must be built around individual customers.  Digital signage allows you to customize offers around each individual customer and offer the appropriate product based on each shopper`s needs at that moment in time.  It also allows retailers to optimize their message around their capabilities at that moment based on variables such as local inventory levels and external conditions.

The increasingly fragmented nature of broadcast TV and the advent of the DVR have made the traditional mass medium of television less efficient and often a crapshoot. Digital signage offers a very efficient means of bringing the message - whether it is the retailer`s message or the vendor`s message - to the "last mile" of the consumer cycle.  The message is delivered to the consumers while they is in the store, with merchandise in arm`s reach, and a cash register nearby.  Compare that with a message delivered to a consumer who is lying in bed, armed with a TiVo remote in their hand.

Retailers have used signage since the advent of the trading post.  As mom-and-pop gave way to chains, the ability to ensure 100 percent compliance with signage programs eroded.  Digital signage offers one way to ensure that important messaging is delivered, taking the store associates out of the equation.

The biggest role that digital signage plays in the retail environment is to keep the in-store marketing message relevant and as dynamic as other forms of marketing media - primarily TV and the Internet. In-store digital signage allows for instantaneous updates to marketing messages in a dynamic manner that has proven to provide better recall rates and generate unplanned purchases.

The primary benefit of digital signage for the retailer is to enable better consumer messaging at the point of purchase, with much more targeted and timely information, specific to their shopper demographic.  Brand enhancement, a modern and state-of-the-art shopping environment and sales lift are also benefits for the retailer.  For the consumer, the benefits include an enhanced shopping experience, more information and a more educated purchase.

Why now?  The cost of display screens and technology has dropped to the point that an attractive ROI is very real, and the measurable impact that mature retail digital signage networks are having on specific business objectives is significant.  An extraordinary amount of precious marketing dollars are spent simply trying to out-shout the louder voices.  Most ads are too general to target individual needs and desires, and many of these marketing dollars are probably wasted.

How have consumer attitudes changed in recent years, and how does that affect the approach retailers must take to reach them?  Customers are much more demanding, and they expect empowerment.  Customers are time-constrained, they are not willing to wait and since they have an abundance of choice about what they buy and where, they may set unrealistic demands on their suppliers.  Consumers have not changed as much as they have reacted. Retail has a 34-percent voluntary turnover rate.  The ability for a consumer to find the proper help within the retail environment is being compromised.  In addition, product and services continue to grow in complexity, which compounds the problem.

Consumers are not only much more technology savvy, they are also much more educated and their expectations when shopping are much higher.Consumers are becoming accustomed and demand to be communicated with via digital display monitors, and don`t even see static point-of-purchase messaging.  They also want to be entertained and not just bombarded with messaging.  With a whole generation brought up on instant messaging, video-on-demand and iPods, the attention span of most people continues to shrink. Customers are impatient and want information instantly.

Any general thoughts or rules of thumb to keep in mind when planning integration into the retail environment?........Anything definitely not to do?

The display must become part of the environment with content that reflects the surroundings.  Size and orientation will depend on location and products.  As an example, a widescreen (16:9) display in landscape fits the natural field of vision for most people.  If you place a landscape screen in front of your merchandise, the viewer won`t see the product.

The time is coming when the concept of integration will be important.  Thus far, Digital signage has been implemented as an "island" of technology.  The requirement to become integrated with other key applications - POS, merchandising, CRM - will soon, become paramount.

Strategic thinking is required to ensure the digital signage display screens are positioned within the store to take advantage of consumer behaviors like traffic patterns, dwell times and the overall look and feel of the intended shopping experience.  Don`t put screens where consumers won`t see them, and don`t let the messaging or content on the displays become outdated or the consumer will only look or engage once.

Smaller stores, with a limited budget, may want to consider implementing low-cost LCD panels in conjunction with traditional product displays.  Larger organizations may choose to opt for more impressive displays such as rear projection TVs or screens, large LCDs, plasmas, DLPs, wall projectors, and video walls.  Messages can also be delivered via touchscreen kiosks, which add an interactive component to an otherwise non-interactive display medium.  Today’s modern software packages can be used for digital signage and touchscreen kiosks alike, so progressive businesses may elect to deploy a combination of both.