Digital signage use quadruples in three years, report shows

The seventh UK Digital Signage Survey, which was conducted by Point of Purchase Advertising International, found that more than 46 000 stores use digital signage, compared with 12 500 in 2007. This figure is expected to rise to 58 000 by the end of 2011.

LG Electronics sales director Warren Lewis says, ‘Retailers are becoming more sophisticated in their use of digital signage. This can be seen in the reduction of screens using sound, with more than two-thirds of respondents not synchronising screens with audio.’

The survey also found a growth in touch-screen technology in the retail market. Currently, one in five retailers use interactive screens, but nearly half of those surveyed were planning to install touch-screen technology in 2011, with a further 25 per cent considering it as a possibility.

Lewis adds, ‘With the spread of touch-screen mobile phones and tablet computers, many people have become used to using touch-screens as part of everyday life. Therefore, the use of this technology on digital signage is no longer being seen as an added bonus – it has become a necessity.’