Good news for retailers of all sizes: Between a good economy and low unemployment, all signs indicate enduring success of bricks and mortar stores. Which means integrated marketers need to double-down on their IRL UX (Interweb slang for: In Real Life User Experience). Revving up your storefront doesn't have to mean installing video walls or going all-digital: some of the most effective examples blend traditional with high-tech. Adding digital to the mix gives you a huge advantage: up to 80% of consumers say they've entered a store because of an intriguing digital sign. Here's how (and why) to think about blending old with new.
You're Not Just Selling Your Products, You're Selling Your Brand
Customers, especially Millennials, are drawn to stores that seem to pick up where the digital experience leaves off. So that means your outward signage and displays should echo your standout website. Whether you're using analog or digital signage, make sure there's consistency: use the same fonts, colors and photos or photo treatments.
Now is a good time to do a brand check: does your web presence synch up with the essence of your brand or retail store?
Mannequins Are Still Useful (To A Point)
If your store sells clothing or soft-goods, it's still useful to have old-school mannequins inside the store to display clothing. However, for prominent window displays, consider a digital sign that allows you to show clothing or products in use.
- This whimsical storefront from Kate Spade integrates a touchscreen to make the store feel like the world's biggest vending machine. The whole experience, right down to colors and fonts, is on-point and on-brand.
- Crocs-yes, they're still around-recently opened a flagship store that uses playful video and lighting with traditional displays to create an attention-getting presence that cuts through the competition to stand out.
- UK retailer Topshop pulled out all the stops with a display that incorporated traditional photography and a video "catwalk" surrounded by smaller, shoppable screens displaying the items modeled on the catwalk.
The brilliant thing about these displays is that each could be adapted for any store or any type of product: hardware, financial services, or restaurant supplies.
Brush Up On Signage Essentials
What makes the three examples above so successful is that each store nailed every single element in the sign, both the analog and the digital components. It's not easy, but when integrated marketers (and their customers) look at the final product, it's worth acing each element.
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