Retail surgery: Are digital advertising screens worth the investment or just a fad?

There’s no doubt that digital point of sale seems to be gaining ground in the UK. It may still be relatively low in numbers and an area that some retailers are still trialling, but many believe it is here to stay.

Gordon Bethell, managing partner at advertising agency Gratterpalm, says: “Digital point of sale offers the ability to change communication effortlessly, in line with in-store offers, with minimal impact on employee hours.”

As every retailer knows, they need to react quickly - whether that’s around price matching, volume driving, or even VAT changes. Creative on digital advertising screens can be changed and hardware monitored remotely, even from a smartphone, and content changed manually, set on timers or even linked with weather sensors.

Bethell says one of the simplest ways to drive sales is to encourage existing shoppers to trade up: “With traditional point of sale it’s difficult to communicate complex offers like multi-saves, but if you recreate the content in an exciting digital animation, you’ll achieve a much greater cut-through.”

Creating effective content is key. Promotional messaging and accompanying animation needs to be clear and concise. Bethell says: “The split between value and premium messages can be easily achieved by using block colour animation versus high quality video with more luxurious typography.” He adds: “Digital has the potential to support traditional point of sale as an ambient brand builder or as an impulse purchase driver. Store planning and local traffic volumes also play a key role in the animation duration, speed and complexity of the message.”