Digital signage market to exceed US$14 billion by 2020
The global digital signage market is forecast to exceed US$14 billion by 2020, as its advantages over traditional advertisement boards become more pronounced and sectors such as healthcare and banking ramp up their use of it.
Technavio's forecast for the global digital signage market 2016-2020 predicts a compound annual growth rate of more than 5%.
The research house says interactive digital signage in particular will experience high adoption.
Technavio says interactive touch displays are being embraced by vendors, and are changing the user experience 'drastically', with the enhanced engagement with content that it allows users, leaving a deeper imprint on their minds.
"They allow end-users to interact with content via touch screens, body sensors and quick-response codes through smartphones," Technavio says.
For the companies deploying interactive digital signage, the benefits are also significant, with data collected and analysed from customer interaction able to be used to offer special discounts and other incentives.
"Due to these advantages over normal displays, interactive digital signage will have high adoption over the coming years," says Sunil Kumar Singh, Technavio lead analyst.
Technavio says digital signage adoption has been increasing due to advantages like zero paper waste, audience engagement, overcoming space limitations, dynamic content control, cost-effectiveness, display of targeted content and interactive digital signage.
"Digital signage is better at protecting the environment, creates a more engaging customer experience and is more cost efficient," Technavio says.
"These advantages make digital signage a reliable alternative to other advertising media like posters and banners.
"With interactive digital signage, customers can explore products more thoroughly and use their personal devices to connect with the signage and receive alerts about offers and promotions.
Technavio says digital signage is finding growing adoption in the healthcare and banking sectors.
The company says digital signage helps bolster communication with patients, visitors and employees in healthcare facilities, where it is increasingly used in lobbies, waiting rooms, cafeterias and patient rooms.
"In patient rooms, there are systems with interactive touchscreen displays that provide videos on medical procedures and display patient status information," Technavio notes.
Meanwhile in lobbies and waiting areas, digital signage is used to promote hospital services.
The banking sector is also increasingly adopting digital signage, with it allowing improvements in customer engagement, targeted promotions and corporate communications.
"Digital signage enables banks to change content from a central location, allowing for the quick updating of company-related information," Technavio says.
"The electronic management of inforamtion saves a lot of money for banks as they are no longer required to print brochures, posters or data sheets to convey frequently changing information.
The future isn't all roses, however, with Singh cautioning that ongoing growth in eCommerce will slow down adoption of digital signage in the retail sector.
"Uncertain ROI is another factor which will impact the adoption of digital signage, as the implementation of digital signage does not ensure higher sales," Singh says.
