Holiday Displays

USING YOUR DISPLAYS TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Oh, sure. You can use the holiday content for your digital signage to advertise sales and spread good cheer. Throw some flashing red and green words and lights up there, back it with some seasonal tunes, and add a Santa or snow man to the background. Done, right?

Now you’re just like all of the other businesses out there.

If you would prefer to really wow your customers, then come up with holiday display content that truly helps them deal with the stresses we all face during the season.

PROVIDE SHOPPING IDEAS

You have a list of people you want to purchase gifts for this season. And, as you scan down the names, you realize something: you don’t know what any of them actually want.

You’ve faced this problem, so you know your customers have, too. Combine your marketing data with interactive content to create a quiz that generates gift ideas when the shopper enters information about the likes and interests of the gift recipient. At the very least, give them a list of what other people are buying for, say, 5- to 7-year-old girls or 10- to 13-year-old boys.

For those who just have no idea what they’re serving this Thanksgiving, provide recipes for traditional or not-so-traditional dishes, or a helpful checklist of items they need to take care of in addition to the actual food (such as, “Do you have enough dishes and silverware? What are you serving the food in? How are you going to store leftovers?”).

FEATURE PRODUCTS

Yes, you want to drive sales by promoting popular, discounted, or complimentary items. However, you should also add the items everyone needs during the holiday season, but often forget. For grocery or general goods retailers, these items might include tape and paper plates.

Also, if there are coupons or giveaways associated with certain items, add those to your digital signage. If you can, allow customers to print the coupons directly from the display, or have the coupons sent to their cell phone or email.

For any featured items, add more value by offering reviews and testimonials; comparing similar or competitor products; or giving directions to exactly where the product is located in your store.

HELP THEM FIND WHAT THEY NEED

It’s hard to keep up with the stock that’s flying off of the shelves. And your employees are often incredibly busy.

So use your digital displays to give customers the option to search for the item they need at other locations. For those with secure networks, let shoppers purchase the item on the display so they don’t have to worry about the item no longer being available when they finally get to the other store. If that’s not possible, program in the ability to send the location’s contact information to the shopper’s cell phone.

BE GENERALLY OF ASSISTANCE

If you can’t or don’t want to get too fancy in your content, simply give shoppers useful information. What are current and future weather conditions? How is the traffic near your location?

Make it easy for people to find what they came in for. Nothing is more frustrating than not being to locate an item. Use your digital signage to direct shoppers to departments that may have been moved around to fit in seasonal items.

(A countdown to Christmas might not be so welcome, though. Your shoppers know exactly how much time they have, maybe even better than your display.)

‘TIS THE SEASON OF GIVING, AFTER ALL

Concentrate on making your digital display content positive for your customers. Taking the focus off of sales and putting it on customer service is the best way to engage your customers during the holiday season.