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Poor, poor retail industry. It has gone through a lot during the last few years. The pandemic has left the most visible scar on its surface. But we’re here to talk about the industry in correlation with the screens. We’re here to talk about retail digital signage trends. And in this domain, all is predicted to be quite good. As the screen technology is adaptable and flexible, retail is safe in its hands.
Let’s review the top digital signage solutions for retail in 2023 and see where we stand and what’s coming next.
Going deeper online (with the help of the screens offline)
With the break of the COVID pandemic, the change to the online medium was inevitable. 2023 will see retail pivoting in this direction even further. But it’s not that the offline spaces will cease to exist. The leading companies will look for opportunities to tie the two worlds together. And retail digital signage software will always be the answer.
How will it be reflected in the day-to-day operations? We expect more and more screens of all kinds and sizes to pop up in the physical stores. Bridging the gap between the offline and digital has long been one of the top retail digital signage trends.
If in 2020 the industry went through the shock waves, in 2021 it was trying to survive, in 2022 the retailers started to actually implement wide-scaled solutions, and 2023 will see these solutions become the new normal.
The move to digital is inevitable and the quicker the companies worldwide understand the real value of it, the better for the industry as a whole. The future is dictated by the hybrid shopping model when a retail store exists in the physical and digital dimensions and does both masterfully.
Implementation of digital signage solutions for retail will only be a win for retailers. On one hand, the display as a medium is well-known and familiar to the majority of shoppers. On the other, the possibilities of digital signage software today are immense and very adaptable.
AR, VR, and (maybe) metaverse
We’ve written about this in our top digital signage trends article. Metaverse is looming over us. And retail is one of the main industries that can benefit from its full development. But whether or not it will happen is a big question. So far, the analysts don’t see it coming on a mainstream scale so it’s too early to talk about the real impact of the metaverse in 2023.
What has come to the mainstream, though, are metaverse’s little helpers such as AR and VR of retail spaces. Every single element is quite different in terms of how they operate. But they are all connected by the yearning to the digital world and minimizing the physical, or real-world factors.
“But why it’s in the retail digital signage trends?” you may righteously ask. It’s because AR and VR need the gates of the entrance. Real stores are not going anywhere and people still go shopping offline as eagerly as they do offline. That’s why in order to enhance their experience, the retailers are looking for new, exciting, and fresh ways to interact.
AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) are the fruits of one tree and that tree is the metaverse. Metaverse as an inter-connected global online network doesn’t exist yet on a global commercial scale but AR and VR do. When you have a shopping mall, a store, or a brick-and-mortar you need to have a tool that enables AR and VR. The screen is that tool and that’s why deploying larger-scale screen solutions is among the top retail digital signage trends.
Malls are in trouble but the screens are the saving grace
Running a mall in 2023 is quite a headache. It’s expensive, it’s complicated, and it’s not as profitable as in 2019. That’s why a complete digital redo is looming over these large retail structures. It’s either change or a closure (aka painful death).
With the availability of awesome solutions at hand, it’s hard to imagine the full downfall of shopping malls. The hand of the market influenced by the pandemic and driven by the global crisis points to more of a digital theme park approach for a regular shopping experience. People still want to go to their favorite shopping centers. It’s just their habits change.
The retail digital signage trend is closely related to the previous one. Shopping malls will become more digitized in 2023. They are set to add new exciting features like augmented reality screens, big 3D billboards, and more experiential content.
Robotized solutions and AI instead of humans
Although we’re not quite on the level of apocalyptic “I, Robot” reality, the robots are definitely starting to feel themselves at home in retail in 2023. And that’s a good thing (if they don’t get too smart and destroy our planet).
That fact brings us to a new cool side of digital signage and that is the screen-powered robots. Supermarkets use them, clothing stores use them, and everyone in retail can use them. For wayfinding, impressing, interacting, and social media promotion. It’s already here and in 2023 the robot trend will only become bigger and bolder.
The development of AI, on the other hand, will untie the retail’s employment contracts-limited hands and bring more cost-efficient and interesting opportunities.
