How Samsung SMART Signage Is Delivering Savings, Versatility and Revitalized Consumer Experiences

The retail environment is highly competitive, with retailers constantly looking for better and more efficient ways to catch the eyes of potential customers. Amid this climate, the benefits of digital displays are well-established, with their impact seen across retail providers from shopping malls to quick service restaurants (QSRs). In the restaurant sphere in particular, digital displays have been found to deliver improved visibility and an elevated overall brand experience compared to analog displays.

But digital signage is good for more than just the consumer. The technology has also been shown to reduce costs for businesses. Below, we explore the wide-reaching benefits of going digital.

Putting the Benefits Into Numbers

When we compare using analog and digital menu boards in restaurants, it becomes clear that utilizing Samsung SMART Signage provides a significant advantage over the use of static lightbox menus. While installing digital signage causes businesses to initially incur slightly higher upfront costs, it has been shown that those businesses receive a higher return on investment within two years of installation. Five years on from the installation of digital signage businesses stand to save around USD10,000 per store according to Samsung’s ‘Improving ROI with digital menu boards’ white paper.

In Samsung’s whitepaper, it is shown that if a QSR brand with 250 stores nationwide were to utilize static signage, it would require a total of six lightbox-style analog menu boards at each location, in addition to six printed menu boards. These boards typically need to be replaced every two months, while the fluorescent lamps for lightboxes and electrical ballasts must be replaced every 18 months. In addition to the annual maintenance fee this all adds up to a considerable cumulative cost. However, the use of digital menu boards immediately eliminates maintenance costs as well as the expenses related to creating new printouts for static menu boards.

Digital Signage for Versatility

But the savings are only the beginning, with Samsung SMART Signage able to deliver a variety of content from images to dynamic videos, all in vivid, vibrant colors. SMART Signage is also engineered to operate 24/7, providing night and day visibility that is unmatched by analog displays and ensuring that customers are deeply engaged with content. These stellar displays are supported by Samsung’s powerful MagicINFO content management solution, which enables users to conveniently manage all of their visual signage from one centralized location. This increased flexibility allows businesses to quickly and conveniently update promotions, offerings and messages to reflect consumer trends and important events, alleviating the slowdowns and missed sales opportunities brought about by businesses having to have their static assets made and delivered.

As outlined above, while the initial installation cost for digital signage is slightly higher, it has been shown that businesses that upgrade from analog to digital signage save around USD 10,000 per store after five years. For a business that operates 250 stores, this equates to an estimated USD 2.5 million in savings from using digital menu boards. And that is before the benefits from potential increases in sales and improved customer experiences are taken into account.

Beyond the Money

But the benefits of digital signage go far beyond just savings and better-looking menus. Digital displays equip a business to evolve and create opportunities that just aren’t possible with analog alternatives. Consumers are constantly looking for the most up-to-date information and best promotions, and the ability of digital menu boards to be updated in real-time to reflect demand, trends and unexpected events allows businesses to act quickly and efficiently.

What’s more, the time required to update menus and other forms of content is drastically reduced with SMART Signage. The time between starting design planning for content and actually seeing it displayed to customers can realistically be as short as two weeks with digital signage, while simpler modifications such as updating product information or complying with new calorie count posting requirements can be made in as little as two hours. Best of all, once these changes are finalized they can be distributed across the entire signage network instantaneously.

This dynamic, in-the-moment approach provides more engaging experiences for customers and drives both satisfaction and sales. In QSRs in particular, purchasing decisions are often made on the spot. Thus, customers in this environment must be equipped with the most up-to-date and accurate information to ensure that they make purchasing decisions that they are happy with. Digital signage allows them to do just this.

Samsung SMART Signage installed at McDonald’s stores in Korea

The benefits of digital displays go far beyond better looking signage. SMART Signage is the most efficient and effective solution when it comes to saving on costs, introducing versatility into the signage and fostering genuine and mutually beneficial consumer relationships. As the age of information continues to progress, Samsung SMART Signage is providing the platform to ensure that the retail sphere is equipped to be a leader when it comes to consumer communications.