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Engagement

How Retailers Are Using Internal Digital Signage to Align Staff and Drive Sales

Digital signage in retail is essential for both staff engagement and increasing sales among customers–a two-in-one deal!

Authored by 
Christina Lundin
Christina is deeply committed to building strong, lasting relationships with clients. With several years of experience, she has a consultative approach to understand each client’s unique needs and deliver tailored solutions. As an extension of your team, Christina brings fresh ideas that drive ongoing success and long-term growth.
Reviewed by 
Kara Surrena
Kara Surrena is a seasoned executive with 20 years of experience leading teams and driving exponential growth in the SaaS software industry.
A digital sign in a clothing store displaying a 50% off deal

The world of retail is endless and it can range from budget-friendly stores to high-end fashion appealing to anybody who is out looking for something that they need, or who just want to treat themselves to a little shopping. There are many ways to attract customers into a retail store, such as having new fashion trends presented on mannequins and traditional posters promoting sales, promotions, and BOGOs–but in our technological world, digital signage is on the rise.

Digital signage can play a huge part of sales in the retail industry through advertisements of new collections, or promotions that stores are hyping up. Yes, digital signage can be an eye-catching way to get the attention of new customers, but it can also be a way to further engage with staff and even increase internal communications.

Retailers are taking advantage of the benefits of digital signage in two aspects–promoting sales and bringing in new customers, and helping to align staff and keep them well-informed of important news or updates throughout the day. Let’s learn more about just how impactful digital signage is in the retail world!

Digital Signage in Retail: Just How Effective is it to Improve Sales and Draw in More Customers?

There’s no doubt that digital signage can change the retail industry, but just how can it accomplish this?

Having the right digital signage for your retail business can help to catch the eyes of both new and dedicated customers, plus boost sales. Image courtesy of Spectrio.

Owning a retail business can come with a lot of competition, so coming up with different promotions, sales, and collections is a great way to entice customers to step in your store and check things out. Digital signage is also an incredible way of making dynamic content that can help to attract new customers and even boost sales.

From the Customer’s Angle: How Digital Signage Makes a Difference in Retail

While traditional posters that are hung up outside or throughout retail stores are still a thing, many businesses are opting for digital signage because of its ability to create dynamic content that can increase foot traffic, boost sales, and drive impulse purchases. 

Living in an era where online shopping reigns superior because of its easy accessibility, many storefronts struggle to maintain the same types of sales. Digital signage is proven to increase retail sales by 30% to help bridge the gap between a store’s online and offline presence and even further drive sales, but just why is this?

Digital signage is a fresh way to help boost sales and engagement while still keeping brand awareness in mind. With the right content management system (CMS), digital signage allows businesses to keep their brand image–including logo, font, and colors–apparent while creating promotional material that can help bring more people into their store. 

With real-time content adjustments, integration through phone applications and loyalty programs, as well as the ability to elevate the brand’s story, many retail businesses see the benefit of ditching old promotional methods and opting for technologically smart ones. 

Benefits From Adding Digital Signage in Retail

It’s important to break down the benefits of using digital signage in retail businesses by how it can help to gain more attraction from customers to drive sales. Here are some of the key things that digital signage can do when looking for ways to attract new customers and boost sales in retail:

  • Boosting customer engagement through interactive content, touchscreens, QR codes, etc.
  • Updating sales, promotions, BOGOs with real-time updates
  • Create personalized shopping experiences
  • Provide instant product information
  • Offer seamless store navigation
  • Improves brand visibility
  • Boosts sales
  • Increases foot traffic
  • Targets advertising to specific clientele
  • Reduces costs and is more eco-friendly
  • Creates an advantage against competitors
  • Provides flexibility with types of content to create

What Makes Digital Signage More Successful in the Retail Industry?

Technology has a way of making people pay more attention to specific brands when shopping in the retail industry. Whether a marketing campaign catches your eye, influencers promote products that drive sales, or digital signage helps to show off a cute outfit or engaging promotional deals in the mall, technology is a great way to encourage people to shop and spend their money.

Digital signage specifically helps to influence the retail industry for customers by delivering dynamic content with targeted messaging that captures their attention much more than traditional posters or signs. In fact, it can increase views by up to 400% compared to static posters with its call-to-action advertising tactics. 

Stores can also enjoy seamless inventory integration by connecting to the Point of Scale (POS) system to help ensure that screens only advertise what is currently in stock, preventing any customer frustration and negative reviews as a result. Overall, digital signage is a great addition to any retail business as it can help to boost traffic and drive sales, making the offline presence of any store boom. 

Another Take: How Digital Signage Impacts Retail Employees

Not only can digital signage be used to bring in customers, but it can be a way to boost engagement and internal communications in staff!

Digital signage can help improve overall staff morale, create a positive workplace environment, and boost engagement. 

When you’re thinking about adding digital signage throughout your retail store, also consider adding it into the break room or other high-traffic areas that your staff frequently visit. Digital signage isn’t only to help benefit your business and boost sales and foot traffic, but it’s also a way to enlighten staff, alert them of crucial company news and events, and to increase engagement and communications.

Digital Signage is Positive Tech For All Staff

Retail is seemingly never-ending and there’s a constant feeling of craziness from stocking shelves, helping customers, and even checking out, folding, and bagging their items. From busy hours–such as the crazy holiday season–to long weekends, staff are consistently running around and keeping themselves busy with their normal tasks that it can be hard to keep up with essential information and news relating to work. 

Many retail employees don’t have an email to check for important HR updates, policy changes, and upcoming events or training to attend, so it’s essential that there are efficient ways for them to be able to stay updated on news throughout the day.

Digital signage is one of the best ways to keep staff updated on important promotions, news, and upcoming training in the world of retail. It can be used as a real-time communication tool that can be used in the back office or employee break room that is both eye-catching and increases communications and engagement among staff. 

It can also be a useful tool when it comes to training staff in instances where it’s hard to get everyone to meet for one training session at a time. Instead, you can respond to a prompt on the screen and interact with a QR code to submit your answer, or even do a short interactive quiz or reading in your spare time, which allows for efficient microlearning.

Types of Digital Signage Content That is Perfect For Staff in Retail

It’s important to know what to create and add to the screens. Here are some of the best types of content to add to retail digital signage for staff:

  • Display target sales and with real-time updates
  • Daily key performance indicators (KPIs)
  • Highlight products that are low in stock
  • Announce new collections or product coming
  • Delivery updates
  • Show upcoming shift schedules and shifts that are open for availability
  • Show staff break times
  • Employee of the Month
  • Recognition spotlights
  • QR code to submit peer shoutouts
  • Staff birthdays
  • New hire introductions
  • Customer service feedback (both positive and negative if necessary)
  • Promote brand and company values
  • HR reminders about benefit enrollment or changes
  • Safety and compliance updates and/or emergency evacuations 

Where Should You Add Digital Signage for Staff?

For retail businesses, the best place to add digital signage for important updates that staff should be aware about is in a high-traffic area that they frequent. This could be the break room, office, or the store rooms where overstock is kept.

These high traffic areas for staff are crucial as it’s a space that is easily visible to see important updates, sales of the day, and can help to make a difference in a staff’s mood.

With the bustling world of retail, it can be hard to properly encourage and show appreciation for your staff, but digital signage makes it easier. Simple appreciation posts and updates on company news, policies, and sales updates go a long way and digital signage helps to bring both customers and employees closer to a business than ever before. 

Choose Shift: The Ultimate CMS For Creating Retail Content For Customers or Staff

Creating content for your retail business shouldn’t be difficult and Shift is the best choice when looking to boost sales and staff morale!

Finding the right digital signage CMS platform can help to make content creation easier, and Shift is a leading choice for the retail industry.

Now that you know the advantages that digital signage can have on the retail industry, it’s easy to be swayed to add it to your own business. No matter if you work at or own a retail business, or even work in the manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, or corporate industries, you can see a huge difference in your staff’s performance and mood. Finding the right CMS platform to create content can be the tricky part, but Shift helps to make content creation fun and easy while helping your business to reap all of the benefits. 

Knowing the Ins-and-Outs of Shift

As stated, Shift is a CMS platform that can help bring your dynamic content to life to promote your business. Not only can it be used on the front lines to engage with customers, but Shift specifically works to help improve relationships between staff to create a strong team, more engagement, and improve internal communications. With pre-made templates that are easy to edit and create your brand’s image with, content creation has never been easier with Shift. 

Shift utilizes their special feature called the Content Navigator, which gives managers real-time control for important updates, company news, or even emergency alerts with the touch of a button. By instantly being able to update Shift’s digital screens, staff can be alerted to team meetings, recognition spotlights, or to even keep staff informed on daily goals and updates. This tool helps to keep staff in the loop as the day progresses so that they never miss a step, plus it helps them to feel appreciated and valued too. 

What Makes Shift So Unique?

There are many reasons why Shift is unlike many other CMS platforms. From its easy content creation abilities to updating screens in real-time, here are some of the best features that Shift has to offer its users:

  • Boost employee engagement through recognition and appreciation
  • Celebrate staff birthdays, work anniversaries, and other achievements
  • Show training videos
  • Employee spotlights
  • Interactive polls for staff to anonymously complete
  • Expands internal communications 
  • Allows staff to retrain and re-skill in key trainings
  • Helps leaders learn more about staff
  • Encourages employees to do work harder
  • Increases productivity  
  • Create diverse content using pictures, videos, or documents
  • Use as a wayfinding and navigation system
  • Broadcast company announcements, updated policies, etc.
  • Use to post emergency alerts
  • Streamline workflow and post frequent updates about each day’s tasks

Retail and Digital Signage: See How a Simple Screen Can Reduce Costs and Put More Money in Your Pocket

Digital signage is a technological advancement that many businesses are making the switch to. Not only do they offer a wide variety of options when creating content that can bring your brand to life, but it can be a great way to drive sales with customers. It can also improve employee relationships and inform them of crucial company news, key performance indicators (KPIs), and give recognition to staff going above-and-beyond in the retail world.

Consider using Shift’s unique content creation platform and boost sales and employee satisfaction without missing a beat in the retail industry!

Authored by 
Christina Lundin
Christina Lundin is a Customer Success leader at Shift platform, where she helps organizations across corporate communications, hospitality, and logistics transform how they connect with their frontline workforce. She partners with executives, operators, and managers to ensure critical messaging is delivered clearly, consistently, and in real time—where work actually happens. With a strong focus on execution, Christina designs communication strategies that cut through noise, align teams, and drive measurable outcomes—from operational efficiency and compliance to employee engagement and retention. Known for her hands-on, solutions-driven approach, she works as an extension of her clients’ teams, helping them turn communication into a competitive advantage on the front lines.
Read More
Reviewed by 
Kara Surrena
Kara Surrena is a seasoned executive with 20 years of experience leading teams and driving exponential growth in the SaaS software industry.
Read More
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Senior Manager of Training and Development, Patton Wings, Buffalo Wild Wings

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Jose Vazquez Barquet, VP

Subway

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