One of the constant challenges faced by retailers is how to keep things fresh to get customers coming back. Retail giant Walmart faced this problem with an ordinary product like classic cereal brand Kellogs Cornflakes. Walmart realised it could create some spark by showing alternative ways of how cereal can be used innovatively, such as in the batter of Mexican-style fried ice-cream. They were able to promote these recipes through short videos via its digital signage network that were positioned across its stores, increasing sales by approximately 60 per cent during the test period.
Australian retailers face two problems: digital signage is not being used widely or innovatively enough in comparison to the rest of the world. In fact, Australia lags about five years behind the US, two to three years behind the UK and one to two years behind Asia.
Conducting its own industry research in Australia and New Zealand, n.gage, who will be holding the Digital Signage Forum in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland in May 2011, uncovered that less than 2 per cent of Australian retailers currently employ digital signage.
The research also found that 71 per cent of respondents were willing to look at media, proprietary or hybrid digital signage models at retail if they could understand the return on investment. However, 86 per cent of respondents felt Australian digital signage companies, are not helping them use digital signage from a holistic business viewpoint.
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