Bradley Cooper
Image via iStock.com
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep across the country, and as politicians pass measures to attempt to control it, many retailers are in an awkward situation. Many have shut down locations or reduced hours. Yet many other businesses, like grocery stores, have to stay open to provide critical services and products to consumers that are spending more and more time at home.
Digital signage can help out during these trying times by allowing retailers to stay in touch with their customers and provide the most important commodity of all: information.
Providing information on product availability
During this outbreak, a lot of items have flown off store shelves such as toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water and especially hand sanitizer. No one wants to drive all the way to the store only to not be able to find anything they need.
Digital signage can help with this task by integrating with a store’s POS system so it can provide information on product availability and purchase limits.
For example, a store’s display could say that there are only 30 packages of toilet paper left, and remind customers that you can only purchase three at a time. It could also provide information on sought after food products such as meat, fruit and canned goods.
Offer wayfinding
Most of the time, people want to get in and out of a grocery store quickly, and the coronavirus is only speeding up that process. People want to get what they need and get back to the safety of their homes quickly. Wayfinding can help them with this process.
A display can feature a map of the store’s layout, with labels to show users where they are and where each department is located. The display can also have an interactive touchscreen — but make sure there is some sort of hand sanitizer next to the display or some way of automatically cleaning the display regularly. No one wants to touch a germ-infested touchscreen.
Help consumers remain calm
Another way displays can help is to just provide a more calming retail atmosphere. Everyone’s on edge with this outbreak, and everyone could use a little encouragement.
Displays could feature content such as:
- Digital artwork.
- Calming videos from the beach.
- Inspiring stories of communities coming together to fight the coronavirus.
- Inspirational messages or quotes.
The goal of digital signage is to improve the customer experience no matter what the circumstances. By helping the customer complete their tasks quickly and efficiently while also keeping them calm, it can accomplish this task brilliantly.
Topics: Coronavirus / COVID-19, Digital Signage, Technology
Bradley Cooper is a Technology Editor for DigitalSignageToday.com and BlockchainTechNews.com. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.
