Do Digital Displays Enhance Sales? Role of Retail Format and Message Content

• Sales in hypermarkets are enhanced when digital displays are on.
• Having displays on in supercenters and supermarkets has a minimal effect on sales.
• In smaller stores the digital displays have a negative impact on sales.
• Sales lift with displays in hypermarkets continues months later, but is reduced.
• The message content must be price promotional as opposed to non-price content.

This research examines the impact of in-store digital displays on retail sales across four different store formats. The results of three field experiments show that sales in hypermarkets are enhanced when digital displays are on. However, in supercenters and supermarkets, having the digital displays on has a minimal effect on sales, and in smaller stores (e.g., convenience stores), the digital displays have a negative impact on sales. A follow-up study confirms that the lift in sales in larger stores when the digital displays are on continues five months after their initial installation, though the lift does diminish somewhat. Furthermore, for the digital display to result in a sales lift, the message content must promote the price.

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