5-7 minute read
Imagine a world, if you will, suspended in disbelief, where Digital Signage has become an even more integral part of our lives. Holographic billboards dominate the cityscape. Hovering Taxi’s whiz by whilst displaying scrolling messages on their door panels, to wear more Gucci, and drink more coke. Dozens of people lining up in front of department stores, trying on all the new fashions, without ever physically trying on any of the clothes. Drones hovering over to people with medical diagnosis discovered, while scanning them from a distance. A man using his phone to scan a QR code in front of a flower boutique to purchase flowers for his date.
This world may seem like it belongs in science fiction, many years into the future. However, many of these developments are already a tangible idea, rather than an idealistic thought. Some, are even already here. Lets discuss what the future of Digital Signage will look like in 2021 and beyond.
Self ordering Kiosks
Self ordering kiosks are already available in many locations across the United States, Europe, and Asia. They work by cutting out the person inputting your order, and allowing you to do it yourself, digitally. McDonalds, Panera, AMC movie theaters, and many other chains have already embraced this technology, but others have been slow to catch on, considering it impersonal. Other critiques is that, there is more chance for mechanical failure, and you’d have to hire a maintenance worker full time.
However, with the global Covid pandemic, many restaurants see self ordering kiosks as an opportunity to streamline their orders, limit face to face contact, and help prevent the spread of bacteria from person to person. Don’t be surprised if more of these will pop up all over the world in the coming years as the benefits include:
- Decreased wait times – According to a recent study from Tillster, if a wait line is longer than 5 people, the 6th person and on would prefer to order from a self ordering kiosk. If a line is 10 people long, a majority 91% say they prefer to order from a self ordering kiosk. These could be very beneficial during lunch hours, where crowd sizes are the largest.
- Increased Check Sizes – One of the lesser known benefits of self ordering kiosks is the kiosks’ ability to upsell better than its human counterparts. Humans can be demoralized after many attempts of offering an upsell with no takers. This however, doesn’t happen with self ordering kiosks. Take it from Taco Bell, which saw a 20% increase in their upsells after switching to self ordering kiosks!
- Enhanced order Accuracy – With self ordering kiosks, the margin of error on orders decreases dramatically. No more will customers say “This isn’t what I ordered” since they are the ones putting the orders in themselves. The order goes from customer, to kiosk, straight to the kitchen. The less middlemen involved, the better.
- Saves money on Labor – Self Ordering Kiosk actually save money on labor. Minimum wages are increasing, yet restaurants want to keep their prices inline with a fast food establishment. With self ordering kiosks, a one time payment is made, followed by small maintenance fees that an owner may not even see for years. With technology getting better and better, these kiosks tend to last upwards of 15 years, without the need for replacement parts.
- Keeps staff and customers safe – With the Covid-19 pandemic, business have been forced to take a newer look into safety protocols. With that said, Kiosks offer a solution to less human to human contact and interaction. It will take a few years to get the statistics on it, but in a few years we should be able to see that Kiosks will offer a certain percentage decrease of viral transmissions through human to human contact. The less human contact there is, the less viral transmission.
Real time virtual fitting rooms
Do you ever dread walking into a department store for the purpose of clothes shopping? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you your size would always fit? If every piece of clothing in that size was universal and trying things on became a thing of the past? With real time virtual fitting rooms, using the power of digital signage, cameras, and a measurement algorithm, this will soon be very possible.
Just think of it, you walk past a window display, select a “Show this on me” button, and within a few seconds a few cameras take some snapshots of you, the algorithm does its thing, and the clothes display themselves on your portrait! From there, you would scan a RF code, connect the image to your Facebook or Instagram, and share with your friends, getting real time opinions all within a matter of a minute!
Sounds like science fiction? Well, no. In Shanghai, this is already a real thing! Check out this cool video for more info.
Real Time Health Analysis via Digital Signage
Health care is based on a brick and mortar, encounter based system. A physical, living, breathing Doctor has to see you, make an assessment, hope he or she is correct and create a prognosis based on the assessment. With the Covid-19 pandemic, this model has showed to be very limiting, and obsolete in many instances. Hospitals weren’t able to meet their quotas, and anyone with anything other than a potential Covid case were turned back, and told to stay home. How many thousands of if not hundreds of thousands of patients were turned away due to the over saturation of patients trying to see a Doctor?
Thankfully, there may be a new way to administer life saving prognosis and assessments without ever having seeing a health care specialist. According to healthcarenews.com a real time health analysis system is on its way. Biometric scans, coupled with vital sign assessments from several instruments that will connect to an ever increasing medical database could be a few years away.
This technology will revolutionize healthcare as we know it. People in sparsely populated areas wont have to drive to a doctor, could get prognosis at anytime, day or night. Even more, this technology could be expanded to other countries around the world with sub-standard healthcare. The philanthropic capabilities of this technology could be world changing.
Payments around the city on provided services
Another interesting advancement can come in the way of digital signage payments around the city for services rendered by businesses in the region. Image you’re interested in going to a concert, and at the last moment, you pass by a digital signage machine offering tickets. You quickly check to see if there any vacancies, book your tickets, get an email on your phone with a QR code, and you’re all set!
Perhaps you forgot your phone but need a taxi, or a some food. Well you’d quickly login to the Digital Signage kiosk or terminal, have all your information pulled up, then request a taxi at your location. These are just some of the things you’d be able to do with Digital Signage payment boards around your city.
Virtual Airline ticket purchases
A great way for airline companies to start thinking about advertising would be to employ Digital Signage right there in the terminals! Think about it. You have people that are already part of the demographic. You have people that are either going on vacation or coming back, while happiness and contentedness are high. You have them already there in the terminal! Offering them a 15% discount, if ordering right there on the terminal would seem like an awesome opportunity. A family just coming back from Hawaii, swearing to do it again next year, can be much more enticed by Digital Signage displaying them a 15% discount a year from now.
Upselling a rental car, or an adventure pack whilst teaming up with a car rental company or local tourist activity center could incentivize the cost of creating an ad, and paying the rental fees.
Digital Signage in every in person payment method
Since we’ve hit ever some of the major outlets where Digital Signage could be the newest form of payment processing, lets keep going. Since grocery stores, and movie theaters employed Digital signage kiosks to handle payment, why not everywhere else? The local bar, a retail store, a laundromat, a fancy restaurant, a bookstore! The possibilities are endless. This technology could eventually be integrated with your phone, or even an armband that you’d use to scan in special locations.
Pretty soon we could see Digital Signage take the place of all cash handling workers, which could in turn save these companies hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries, mishandled orders, missing cash, benefits paid, and all the overhead associated with hiring people to do these jobs. This in turn would free up many other technology jobs, and potentially increase the standard of living for everyone involved.
Digital Signage and your senses
Digital signage can affect more than just one sense. In fact, a Japanese telecommunications company called NTT which has taken digital signage and applied aroma-emitting devices to it. The company sprays an aroma rich fragrance into the air to strengthen their fragrance division. The idea is that viewers will remember the experience and enhance their memory about the product. Thereby creating a a connection between the ad and the person its intended for.
Eventually Digital Signage can incorporate not just visual, but auditory as well as olfactory sense. Imagine passing by a digital signage kiosk that has delectable Chinese food displayed, with the sounds of it cooking, and the sounds coming from inside the restaurant. Adding a vent, or even special spray that send food vapors into the air to entice a customer could be just around the corner!
