The Future of Digital Window Displays: 3 Upcoming Trends!

At James Hogg Display, I like to share my thoughts about all types of digital signage across industries. But one of the most exciting and relevant ones for the world of retail today is the digital window display!

Next time you go for a stroll down high street, take note of the vivid displays beaming at you from the shop windows. From QSRs and restaurants or bars and pubs to clothing stores, homewares, tech, banking – virtually everyone with a physical location is making the leap to digital window displays.

In this guide, I’ll cover what makes digital window displays so important and where they’re headed in the future, so you can think about the business use cases for this essential bit of advertising tech.

What is a Digital Window Display?

Put simply, a digital window display is a screen designed to be viewed in front of or behind the window of a brick-and-mortar retail store. It can display both still and moving images for shopfront advertising.

The digital window display is one of the best ways for retail stores to improve footfall and make more sales. Your windows are some of your most valuable branding real estate, so why not take advantage of them? 

3 Use Cases of Digital Window Displays

Right off the bat, you should know that the commercial large format display signage market is expected to grow by £2.39B from 2021 to 2026. This category includes the popular digital window display.

What makes these dedicated digital window screens better than a television or other screen is that they’re designed to be readable in sunlight.

1) Digital Window Display

The standard digital window display is an outward-facing display placed just behind your shop window. 

With this display, you can easily share eye-catching images or video – perfect to use on its own or alongside traditional printed signage. Think of this as a way to draw the eye of potential shoppers who are walking by your physical store. 

2) Hanging Double-Sided Display

The hanging double-sided display is a great option when you want a display that’s visible to customers both outside and inside the store. It uses an integrated ceiling mount for setup. 

This is an easy way to integrate the digital display into your shop window from multiple directions and share your latest attention-grabbing promotions with everyone. 

3) Interactive Window Display

Another excellent use case for the digital window display is an interactive experience. 

Whether you have a menu, a catalogue, or other useful information to share with passersby, it’s much easier to draw in potential shoppers with a display they can interact with. And then, the customer can self-select what they’re interested in, making them more likely to buy from you. 

Let an interactive screen do the selling for you! 

Case Study: Famous Footwear in NYC

It’s one thing to talk about the addition of screens to a retail location, but what does all this look like in action? 

Well, one great example is the upgrading of digital window displays at Famous Footwear’s New York location. They knew they needed quality signs for their flagship store on 34th Street in midtown New York City, one of the most highly-trafficked areas in the United States. 

In this case, the digital sign provider installed a whopping 51-screen video wall in the store’s main window facing the sidewalk. One thing this did for the Famous Footwear store was allow it to share new fashion trends for customers before they even walk in.

And what happened as a result? The company cited 5.7 percent higher foot traffic at locations with the customised digital signage compared to those without it. They also saw higher sell through of the specific products that were merchandised through their video wall installations. 

Of course, most retailers are reticent to provide all of the details on successful campaigns to help protect their successes from the competition. But one thing is for sure: Famous Footwear’s upgraded signage led to an improved perception of their brand among shoppers, as well as an increase in foot traffic and sales – enough that the company moved forward with launching digital window displays at more than 200 other locations.

3 Future Trends of Digital Window Displays

Clearly, there’s a lot that current digital window displays can do to help your business attract and engage shoppers at a physical retail location.

Now that we’ve talked about how digital window displays can help your business today, let’s take a look at where the digital window display is headed tomorrow!

1) 3-D Holographic Displays

One of the most exciting new developments in display technology is the 3-D holographic display. 

Imagine flat panel signage that can project incredible imagery into 3-D space, complete with enough viewing angles to maintain its appearance no matter where the customer is looking. A more immersive 3-D display could also be made possible through augmented reality or virtual reality.

Remember all of the holograms in those old sci-fi movies? They’re finally starting to seem not only possible, but likely!

2) AI and Digital Humans

Another huge opportunity for future digital window displays is the technology of AI and digital humans. If you want to optimize the customer experience, a digital human can certainly take interactivity to the next level.

For instance, there’s already current technology that allows you to create a digital human version of yourself – you can personally start on a call and then the digital version will carry on the call after. 

With this sort of capability in a retail space, the customer could go up to a screen and interact with an AI version of a support specialist, a mascot, or even the company founder. They could even ask questions and get answers like they’re talking to a live human!

We’re not there quite yet, but I can tell you that a lot of shopping centers are excited about the possibilities here! 

3) Metaverse

It sounds a little crazy to say, but yes, the hypothetical metaverse you’ve been hearing so much about could be the next big thing in digital signage!

While Meta (parent company of Facebook) is on the forefront of this idea, we still don’t know where or how a metaverse will take shape. But we do know that the metaverse could become a major piece of the digital economy – so any retailer looking to get in front of customers should be thinking about where they can promote their brands in a virtual world.

Conclusion

Obviously, not all of these futuristic technologies are available yet, but you don’t need them to find compelling reasons to add digital window displays to your retail space!

There are many benefits to digital window displays, including boosting footfall from passersby and grabbing attention for your brand. Plus, the digital nature of these displays makes it easy to change your adverts or messaging as often as you like.

Whether you’re a bank, QSR, apparel store, or any other retailer, digital window displays can make a world of difference to your bottom line. Ultimately, it’s up to you to take advantage of this technology for your business, because the future of advertising is here!

James Hogg Display is here for all your digital display needs, including double-sided and interactive window display solutions for businesses. We also offer interactive self service kiosks, LCD digital hand sanitiser dispensers, and more. Get in touch today for more information!