Vendors showcase their digital sizzle at world’s largest digital signage conference and trade show
Spending two days walking the aisles of the Digital Signage Expo (DSE 2018) in Las Vegas, Nev. is a sure-fire way to trigger the imagination — and perhaps overstimulate the senses.
It’s sort of like being in Times Square for eight hours a day, bombarded by blinking messages, flashing signs, and all manner of digital distractions.
Ironically, it’s quite unlike being in a typical automotive dealership, which are often lacking in digital showmanship and interactive digital experiences for car shoppers and current customers.
Often the only digital experience you can find in a dealership might be a TV hanging on the wall broadcasting forgettable afternoon programming or 24-hour news stations that broadcast competitor ads into a dealership’s customer lounge.
That’s why for the third straight year, the Canadian auto dealer team descended upon the show from March 26-29 to help get a better sense of the types of technology and content that is now being more widely considered to help jazz up the automotive retail experience.
Apart from the two-day trade show, the event also features a full conference where attendees tackle the latest trends, brush up on the newest technology and try to figure out ways to energize the retail sector that is facing its own challenges.
Many of the speakers dealt with the mounting pressures all retailers are facing with the growth of online commerce sites like Amazon that are making it more convenient than ever for shoppers to avoid setting foot in a bricks and mortar facility.
“It used to mean big success to get brands into traditional retail. Some companies are now choosing to skip it,” — Philip Raub
In the full-day Digital Experience Forum: Winning with DX, presenters reinforced the changes retailers face, and encouraged them to focus on the experience they are providing to customers before they get to the store, and as soon as they set foot inside their retail location.
Philip Raub, President b8ta Inc., an innovative California retailer, said retailers have failed the brands by not creating engaging experiences for shoppers. “It used to mean big success to get brands into traditional retail. Some companies are now choosing to skip it,” says Raub.
On the trade show floor, vendors that provided everything from digital signage screens, content management software, interactive kiosks, holographic technology, video walls and everything in between competed for attention.
He encouraged retailers to mix digital experiences in with their products for an enhanced user experience.
In his session, Stephane Nasser, Strategy & Development Manager with Fabernovel, explored the shocking scale of the GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) and the tactics they use to fuel even further growth.
Nasser said Amazon alone adjust their online prices 2.5 million times per day, are moving to predictive shipping anticipating buyer demand, and their website services 200 million people a month.
They, and the other tech giants, are amassing so much data about consumers and buying habits and are going to make it even more difficult for traditional retailers to remain relevant.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Even though the tech giants can get close to “faking love” one answer for retailers is to move from transactional relationships with customers to “transactions with love,” said Nasser. This means showing each and every customer that you truly care about them, and providing them a genuine and sincere positive experience. This can go a long way in competing with the frictionless online experiences from tech providers and online only retailers.
Other presenters showcased case studies of how they transformed big box stores into places where amazing experiences take place, and others looked at the role that technology can play in augmenting a retail experience.
On the trade show floor, vendors that provided everything from digital signage screens, content management software, interactive kiosks, holographic technology, video walls and everything in between competed for attention.
For more information about the event, visit: www.digitalsignageexpo.net
