Point-of-Sale Data Analysis Against Digital Signage Content and Schedules Is Gaining Ground

November 7th, 2007 Nurlan Urazbaev

“The concept is simple: Take the millions of lines of time-stamped playlist data from the signage network, place them alongside the millions of lines of time-stamped sales data from the POS, and compare. Look for patterns that reveal which bits of content are having an impact on sales,” writes James Bickers of Self Service World magazine and digitalsignagetoday.com in his article, recapping the latest approaches to measuring digital signage campaigns effectiveness in retail.

James is focusing on the fact that POS data analysis can help one define which type of content or specific content version resulted in better sales – and I totally agree with that. I would add, however, that, apart from the content, you can also test-change-analyze-change-test, etc. – all kinds of scheduling variations: was the day part picked right?; if there were several day parts, which one worked best?; was the frequency (loop saturation) right? was the overall loop length set right?; did the ad adjacency to other content play any role? did competitive ads or their absence have an impact?, etc.

There is more and more talk nowadays about reinforcing this type of campaign effectiveness analysis, that, by definition, can be done only in e-commerce and in retail digital signage. When such applications are standardized and mass produced they will pave the way for digital sigfnage to become part of mainstream media. 

Entry Filed under: Digital Signage Evolution, Digital Signage ROI, How to: Digital Signage Tips, The Big Picture, Toys and Technologies