Ka Ching! 6 Awesome Benefits of Point of Sale Advertising

In the futuristic movie Minority Report, there is a scene where Tom Cruise is walking inside a mall and he is being aggressively hounded with ads specifically meant for him. There is a Lexus and Guinness ad that single him out (by name!) and told him that he needed a new car and a glass of the golden ale.

We don’t have to wait for the year 2054 for this tech – it’s here now. It’s not as advanced as showing personalized ads, but still passive-aggressive enough to help plant a suggestion in mind of the consumers that they really need your product.

You see mostly the same type of ads now in bus stops, subway stations, digital billboards and in-store digital advertising usually connected to the POS system. Digital advertising is a highly effective way to reach your customers, especially if you can target them. Here are a few benefits of going digital.

1.Increase Your Sales

Launched way back in 2004, the first in-store digital advertising ads weren’t as effective because either the stills were of poor quality or the videos were too long. Fast forward to 2010 where a Nielsen study found that 4 out 5 brands who utilized digital point of sale advertising saw an increase of up to 33% in sales.

2.Instant Upsell

Today, if you go to any retail store or coffee shop that has digital ads connected to their POS system, you’re going to see a related product you can buy while you’re there. Let’s say you’re in a coffee shop that uses this tech and you buy a cappuccino. Once the cashier enters your order, a bagel or any other pastry item might show up on the digital display. If you buy a sandwich, a picture of a beverage that goes well with it will be shown.

3.Offer Alternatives when Stocks are Low

When a POS system determines that the store lacks inventory on a particular item, the digital ad will show an alternative one instead. If a customer orders a cappuccino and the store is running low on bagels, the system will automatically block it off and not show it until it’s replenished. The screen will now show a different dish, like a donut or a croissant.

4. Ad Targeting

Some companies are already implementing facial recognition scanners in their stores to determine what ads to show. It won’t really know who you are, only your approximate age and gender are taken into account and the ads shown to you are meant to be only for your demographic – if the scanning software happens to get your age right.

5.It’s Very Effective

Marketing gurus say that it’s more effective to target consumers in the store, rather than at home in their living rooms because most purchasing decisions (about 70%) happen inside the store. Imagine that!

6.Works Just Like Cookies

In-store advertising is more effective than traditional advertising because just like the cookies in your computer that serve you ads related to a car or tennis shoe you searched for (targeted online ads), the facial recognition software and POS integration mean that the ads you see on the display are more likely things you need and want to buy anyway. So, you have a big chance of actually buying more items before you head out the door, which is exactly what any business wants.

It’s no secret that the trend has been moving towards targeted ads for years because it saves marketers time and business owners money if they can just serve personalized ads a la Minority Report. We’re a far way from retina scanning,although it wouldn’t hurt to be alerted on mega deals from time to time.