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In part two of LG's help guide for retailers, Warren Lewis, LG's commercial director, B2B, elaborates on the types of technologies becoming more common in the retail sector and examines concerns surrounding content and connectivity.

Click here to read part one of Warren Lewis's guide for retailers.

Touchscreens
Today, growing numbers of people have experience of using touchscreens in everyday life. From mobile phones to tablet computers, people are not only comfortable using touchscreens designed specifically with the retail sector in mind, they expect it. Many retailers recognise this. Touchscreen technology is growing in the retail industry as it has the potential to bring huge benefits to an organisation's customer service. Such screens, if connected to an appropriate network, can be used by customers to order or buy goods, saving them time at the checkouts. They could also act as an interactive guide to a product or act as a service finder in a department store or shopping centre, aiding the consumer in making purchasing decisions.

Currently only one in five retailers use interactive screens, but nearly half of those surveyed said they would install touchscreen technology in 2011, with a further 25 percent considering it as a possibility. Those retailers who invest in this technology will give themselves an edge over competitors that do not have it.

3D
It is also worth noting that a substantial minority of retailers are considering the possibility of 3D digital signage. This looks to be the next must-have in technology and demand is likely to increase.

Content and connectivity
There is little point deciding on the type of screen you want unless you know what you want to use it for. Bespoke content for displays is generally visual, short, eye-catching and updated regularly. Most content (58 percent) is now updated weekly with 25 percent updated daily and over 20 percent updated live or hourly.

How your media is transmitted to the screen is the next aspect that you would need to think carefully about. It is fairly probable, like most other retailers, you will want to update your messages on a regular basis. As such, the use of a DVD would be inappropriate, as this would need to be changed continually.

Therefore it is worth considering the use of either a Wide or Local Area Network (WAN/LAN) or the internet to deliver content. This has multiple benefits – allowing content to be updated centrally, removing the need for staff to remember to change a DVD and a better quality image. More than half of those surveyed used such networks to transmit their material to screens. This area has seen one of the greatest changes since the last survey in 2007, when DVD was the most popular method of distributing content to screens (45 percent of the total).

Digital displays
There has never been a better time to invest in digital signage. Displays are more cost and energy efficient than ever before. Retailers who do not invest in digital signage risk being left behind as consumers demand more sophisticated means of engagement.