Convenience store operators are realizing the power of using digital signage in their stores, both for branding and for promotional messages.

“Convenience brands should think about their business goals and determine how digital signage can make the biggest impact,” said Greg Breyfogle, national accounts sales manager, Daktronics.

Now that consumers can make most purchasing decisions from home, he said, retailers “must provide shoppers with a reason to repeatedly walk into your store. Digital signs create an atmosphere that appeals to today’s shoppers.”

Kwik Trip stores have, on average, 18 digital signs in their 9,000-square-foot stores, offering dynamic content that enhances branding and boosts sales.

Mark Meisner, director of marketing and advertising for the La Crosse, Wisconsin–based retailer, said the company started testing digital signage five years ago. “When we saw what they did aesthetically, we got really excited,” he said. “The stores that didn’t have the signs were really missing something. People are in the digital age now and expect a digital experience.”

Kwik Trip’s 55-inch screens are scattered through the store. They’re above the registers, where they can promote counter items or a location’s car wash; there’s a five-screen video wall over the hot beverages that flips to a menu board; there are signs above smoothie machines, dairy products and bread; and two screens sit side by side above the prepared foods and are one of the first things customers see, Meisner said.

Digital signage allows change to happen quickly, Meisner said. Kwik Trip can have new content in stores within the hour. This ability to quickly make updates was especially helpful during the pandemic, when food prices changed several times a week.

Focus on Foodservice

If convenience stores use digital signage in just one area of their store, it should be for prepared foods, said Eric Sales, creative director for Abierto.

Digital signs draw attention to and boost revenue from foodservice. Ideally, ensure your menu board is visible from the front door so it’s hard to miss when customers enter, he said.

Mike Tippets, vice president of enterprise marketing for digital signage company Hughes, recommended that half of foodservice digital signage be menu items and that the other half feature images to whet customers’ appetites. Video works really well, but so do dynamic pictures, such as burgers with cheese slowly melting.

Jacob Volk, executive vice president of client services with DEEL Media, said almost all the signage the company creates has some motion that draws the eye to the screen, whether that’s motion graphics, real-life footage or something else. “We’ve found that to be much more impactful than static presentation.”

But don’t go overboard, he said. “We limit the amount of motion to what we want the customer to focus on.” So there might be a picture of a coffee with steam rising from it next to a static sandwich; then the movement might reverse, with the cheese melting on the sandwich but the coffee static.

Moving images are hard for customers to ignore, Tippets said, but photos that change quickly have the same eye-catching effect.

It’s easy to program digital menu boards to change by daypart, and all content can be scheduled in advance. The content should change regularly, but you don’t need to reinvent the wheel—change the background color and it looks different, Tippets said.

“Promote high-margin, high-profit, high-value items,” said IV Dickson, chief innovation officer, SageNet. “We see people excel when they promote a mid-level product with a super powerful product.” For example, promote fries with something you want to move, such as pizza bites, with the second item for just $1.

Digital signage can also create excitement around coming products, explains Daktronics’ Breyfogle. “Imagine the wait line for the new lunch offering based on the awareness created through digital signage,” he said. And digital signage can boost check size by suggesting pairings, persuading a customer to add a cup of soup to a sandwich, for example.

Forecourt Counts

Transparent LED digital signage is growing in popularity. These signs are positioned on convenience store windows yet are transparent when viewed from inside the store, ensuring staff feel safe.

"Digital signs create an atmosphere that appeals to today’s shoppers.”

Transparent LEDs are a great opportunity to draw drivers from the forecourt into your convenience store. A six panel set is fairly typical, or two six panel sets next to each other, Sales of Abierto said, “but you can go way bigger. It’s like a billboard, and you can see them from 200 feet away.”

Placing digital signs on the top of pumps is also an excellent tactic. While pumping gas, customers are a captive audience.

According to Bluedot, around half of consumers look at their phones while filling their cars, so pump toppers can be an alternative distraction. “Traditional marketing is not big and bold enough, so it’s important to find ways to engage these customers,” Sales said.

The most important thing is to get those drivers into the store, where “you have a significant chance of getting them to buy something and the margins are infinitely better than the fuel,” he said.

Another option is LCD screens, SageNet’s Dickson said, which use less-expensive technology that’s more scalable and affordable. LCD screens also, he pointed out, allow for easier content creation and easier and faster deployment, and come in more sizes.

At the Pump or Charger

Another prime customer to bring into the store through digital signage is the EV driver, who typically stays for longer, so is more likely to shop. This customer is also often more affluent. Some EV chargers feature digital signage; others offer smaller screens where retailers can run promotions.

For these customers, Dickson said, stores could combine sponsored longer-format video content (cartoons, YouTube videos, etc.) that could offset costs both for the operator and the end user, with some advertisements that have the ultimate goal of bringing the driver into the store.

TXB stores use digital signage on EV chargers, where it has chargers, and plans to add more screens to the charging area “to communicate more of our fresh food,” said Kevin Smartt, CEO of TXB, which is based in Spicewood, Texas.

“If that customer decides to stay in their car, we have a captured audience for 20 to 25 minutes at least, and if you’re messaging them all that time, surely they’re going to come in for something.”

The two newest locations of Weigel’s feature gas pumps with digital touch screens. Each pump features two screens of around 27 inches each; one handles static images, and the other has video capabilities.

“The engagement is much higher with digital compared with looking at a printed sign,” said Nick Triantafellou, director of merchandising and marketing, Weigel’s. He likes to feature anything dynamic and attention-grabbing, especially summer sweepstakes and foodservice.

TXB stores are also using pumps with digital screens, Smartt said. The screens are bifurcated so they can show two messages, usually focusing on the chain’s fresh food.

Make things as easy as you can for customers in the forecourt, Dickson said. Show them digital menus and let them order food from their phone that can be ready before they’ve finished filling up. The food, he adds, could even be delivered out to their car.

Other Locations

Digital signage can be used at point of purchase, said Dickson. He points to digital signs on the shelf edge, shelf toppers or headers and in-aisle signage. This type of signage is viable because it’s networked, which means it can be changed with the click of a button.

"Traditional marketing is not big and bold enough, so it’s important to find ways to engage these customers.”

Cooler doors are also an option for digital signage, though Hughes’ Tippets doesn’t recommend it. The implementation is challenging, and the maintenance is significant: Condensation is a challenge and doors can slam hard.

Digital signage can also go over coffee stations, fountain beverages and grab-and-go foods.

TXB stores use digital signage to sell lottery tickets. Physical tickets are no longer displayed; instead, customers choose from a screen. These displays “really clean the store up and showcase the tickets in a first-class fashion,” said Smartt.

TXB uses digital screens on its self checkouts, where it features promotional messages that customers see as they arrive. Coffee machines also feature digital screens, where TXB displays messaging about its hot dispensed program.

Creating Content

The biggest challenge with digital signage is content creation, whether it’s keeping things fresh or launching a full marketing campaign. For large convenience store retailers, content can all be managed at headquarters, and local stores can have some level of control over what’s shown in their individual store.

While digital signage companies can provide creative help, content is usually handled by someone in marketing, if the retailer is a large company. But digital signage is accessible to small retailers, too. “If it’s a mom-and-pop store, it’s whoever’s got five free minutes,” said Tippets. “The great thing is you don’t need a lot of expertise. It’s drag-and-drop, click-and-point technology.”

One important tip: It’s very important to have high-quality food photography, which can make the difference between a dish looking appetizing or looking gray. DEEL offers photography if customers request it. DEEL can also modify existing images, which need different colors depending on whether the image will be shown static or in a video.

Branding Boost

Beyond selling, digital signage is a great tool for boosting a convenience store’s branding.

"You’re building shopper confidence by telling your story.”

This is one of Kwik Trip’s main goals. “We have so much to talk about,” Meisner said. Digital signage “gives us a way to merchandise our products and tell the story behind our products and production facilities. It’s created a platform that’s unique and dynamic; it creates interaction and brightens up the store. This strengthens the brand.”

Branding via digital signage can be a difficult proposition because c-store customers mostly want to get in and get out, Tippets said. The easiest way to boost branding is to use digital signage to encourage guests to sign up for a loyalty program.

To grab attention immediately, Tippets suggested hanging a digital sign where customers will see it as soon as they enter, in the line of sight, usually on a back wall directly across from the front door. But an even better option is placing that sign immediately in front of the door as customers enter. “Even a small screen gets their attention—the changing dynamic and the color gets them to take a peek,” Tippets said.

With your branding, focus on what makes you incredible, be it your fresh-ground coffee or your unusual sandwiches. “It’s about exposing people to product lines you’ve spent time and money developing,” Sales said. “Focus on what your most important brand mantras are,” he added. “If you do that, you’re building loyal fans.”

Kwik Trip is planning to provide non-promotional content, such as local weather forecasts, through its digital screens. It already entertains customers by repurposing content from its social media. “We have a lot of entertaining social media and so many raving fans,” Meisner said.

TXB stores have three or sometimes four screens over the customer checkout area, featuring one image across all screens, usually showing either quality food, how the company prepares food, or private-label packaged items and where they come from. “It’s never promotional, always messaging,” Smartt said.

He added: “I’m a big believer in building the brand and building the story, and it not being about the immediacy of what [shoppers] are seeing. It’s not promotional; you’re building shopper confidence by telling your story.”