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Retail Digital Signage Testing Methodologies
As mass markets continue to fragment and retail and consumer brands seek more targeted communication, the drive toward new, more precisely targeted and effective media becomes apparent. The ability to influence consumer behavior is the justification for a Retail Digital Signage network. In this section, various methods to measure the influence and to test the effectiveness of a retail digital signage system are explored.
The effectiveness of a digital signage system quantifies the extent to which the goals of the deployment are being met. The evaluation process is somewhat easier when the expected benefits are tangible. For example, in the case of an advertising network model, the network's goals may be limited to generating advertising revenue and merchandise category lift. In this instance, the measurement of advertising revenue and sales impact is relatively straightforward. In the captive business model, the expected benefits from an implementation of a retail digital signage system may include direct benefits such as product trial, brand sales and the like, as well as indirect benefits associated with communicating about the brand and store image. As with all forms of media, communications that have a direct impact on purchase behavior are much more easily evaluated, while indirect effects are more elusive.
The process to assess the performance of a program can be divided into three parts. The first part consists of understanding a retailer's business strategy and understanding how a digital signage system enhances that strategy. In the application context, retailers may adopt digital signage systems for a variety of reasons including generating revenue from the store medium, improving sales, enhancing the customer experience and/or improving customer loyalty. These objectives form the basis for establishing the metrics that will be utilized to assess the effectiveness of the digital signage system that are consistent with the communication objectives. In the event that attaining more intangible goals is desired, such as enhancing the customer experience, then measures of customer impressions, store and product education, and/or brand perception should be established. If influencing customer loyalty is a desired goal of a retail digital signage system, then measures that involve the store/brand promise, product perceptions, and customer lifetime value should be considered. Once the measures are established, the final step in the evaluation process consists of data collection and analysis to assess the impact of digital signage on the measures of interest. Data sets can be gathered from a variety of sources such as POS data, through discussion groups, visual scans, video observations, and shopper interviews. Other data gathering methods currently under investigation include customer loyalty card usage, touch screen hits (if an interactive format is adopted), store personnel interviews, etc.
Testing methodologies will, to a great extent, be dependent upon the implementation stage of a project. That is, the measurement deployed will be influenced by the stage of a project's development. During the early phases of a deployment, where issues such as screen physical placement, credibility of the application, content, play list, etc. are being refined, more robust testing may be required. Once baseline measurement standards are established, the required measurement may be less intense. Notwithstanding, measurement may be desirable to confirm that system goals are being met during various segments of a project, such as coincident with a new promotional program.
As detailed below, five data sources can be leveraged. Suggestions are advanced regarding the number of test stores, testing period, etc. that will ideally be involved in a test. The actual test parameters should, in practice, be determined on a case-by-case basis. Other methods are becoming available as well, but have not, as of yet, been subject to empirical testing.
- Sales Analysis: Sales analysis provides the link between the message and its impact upon consumer shopping behavior. Ideally, 20 stores should be involved in testing during a trial phase; 10 enabled and 10 non-enabled. Analysis should begin four weeks prior to deployment to establish baseline statistics. The purpose in establishing these pre-deployment baseline numbers is to gauge product performance prior to screen deployment to filter the effects of seasonal fluctuations, product availability, and to otherwise generate inert sales figures for use in the controlled testing phase. The test should run 24 weeks during the trial phase. The output from this testing will assist a retailer in determining the impact of Retail Digital Signage enabled stores when compared to non-enabled stores, aid in making product assortment decisions and merchandise shelf allocations, as well as assess promotional and cross-promotional impact, and lead to an understanding shopping patterns, etc.
Discussion Groups: Discussion groups are utilized to determine shopper awareness of the digital signage system and the messages; message relevance to shopper needs and expectations and message recall; and shopper utilization of content, i.e., calls to action, etc. Generally, six to eight shoppers from Retail Digital Signage enabled stores are interviewed three times during a six-month trial period to determine shopper perception of a digital signage installation. The output from these discussions will assist the retailer in determining if customers are aware of the screens, if the screen placement is accurate, and if messages displayed are significant and relevant.
- Visual Scans: Visual scans will lead to a qualitative understanding of store traffic patterns; conversion of screen observation to sales; length of exposure and number of messages viewed; and shopper field of vision. Ten to 100 shoppers should be equipped with visual cameras to determine shopper field of vision as they shop a store. This testing occurs three times during a six-month trial period. The output from this will assist a retailer in determining shopper field of vision and net ratings. That is, what is actually being viewed.
- Video Observations: Video observations produce quantitative data relative to customer shopping behavior. Five to 10 video cameras are installed in one-to-three Retail Digital Signage enabled stores, capturing data over a two to seven day period three times during a six-month trial period. The output from this will assist a retailer in determining shopping store pathways and specific counts relative to store and aisles shopped. Information produced will include the following:
The number of shoppers entering the store by time of day/day of week. - Who is entering the store - gender/age/group size.
- Number of shoppers who pass the screens in different locations.
- Number of shoppers who glance at the screens.
- Number of shoppers who stop and look at the screens.
- Shopper Interviews: Shopper interviews will lead to an understanding of screen observation and recall, as well as message impact. 100 to 300 shoppers are interviewed three times during a six-month trial period. The output from this will assist a retailer in understanding shopper perceived behavior, which can be compared with quantitative data to determine variances.
-source: Platt Retail Institute
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