With all the changes since the beginning of 2020, many retail stores struggle to keep customers coming in and revenue high. You’ve likely already made changes in the way you do business, such as adding curbside pickup or limiting the number of people in your store at one time. Here, in this article, we’re disclosing all the facts about how to boost customer satisfaction with signage.

Statista looked at some predictions for the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, including as much as a 2.4% drop in gross domestic product (GDP) for most countries in the world. How much your business feels the pandemic’s effects depends on the products you sell, your area of the country and how well you weather the shifts in the market.

As you seek creative solutions to the economic crunch, you need to get the word out to your target audience about those changes. One of the most effective ways of announcing events, changes and sales is through signage in your retail space. Used correctly, signs can improve the user experience (UX) and increase foot traffic.

How Do You Attract Customers to Your Store?

Since more people stay home and avoid situations where they might pick up the virus, finding new ways to pull people into your store becomes vital in increasing your business. You can utilize signs for promotional efforts in various ways:

• Invest in eye-catching store signage. If people don’t know you’re there, they can’t stop in.
• Place a sign where people driving past can see it and see you’re open for business. People may feel uncertain about which companies are operating.
• Reassure customers you are taking the necessary precautions to keep them safe. Well-placed COVID policy signs let passersby know you care about their well-being.
• Inform people of any special sales, new products or discounts with brightly colored signs and banners.
• Place floor signs strategically to draw people into your establishment. These can go inside your store and direct people to sales or they can go outside at a shopping mall and direct them into your place.

Pay careful attention to the way the sign looks from different distances. You want a sign to grab attention from a distance. However, it should also be readable. The size of the font, as well as color and object placement, all matter for signage.

Can You Use Signage to Increase Productivity?

Your workers may feel a bit despondent right now. Most people haven’t had a vacation in almost a year. They might miss family and friends, celebrations such as weddings and dining out as frequently. Signs can help motivate your workers and inspire greater productivity.

• Hang motivational sayings around the office and break areas of your store.
• Encourage employees with details on how many days until the next big event for them. If you don’t have an event planned, host a small gathering after store hours or provide a bonus.
• Set goals and hang signs letting them know what they’re working toward.

You can also use signs to remind workers of safety rules, store policies or your purpose as a brand. The stronger your company culture is, the more likely they’ll respond to your efforts.

Does Digital Signage Increase Sales?

Once you get consumers in your store, you need to turn them into buyers. If you can upsell and increase the amount of each purchase, you’ll bring in more revenue. You can use signage to increase your sales in many ways:

• Highlight a discount if they buy more than one item. You will still make a profit, but the consumer is likely to spend more.
• Start a referral program and use signs to indicate how to join and the benefits. Most marketers state that the quality of leads from referrals is high.
• Offer a bonus if they spend more than $50 at a time. Hang signs at the entrance to your store about the reward, so they keep the target amount in mind and spend more than they may have planned.
• Advertise a customer loyalty program to encourage repeat visits to your store.

Digital signage helps increase the amount of money spent in your store. Buy-one-get-one sales and special offers entice people to add to their planned purchases.

What Types of Wayfinder Signage Do You Need?

How do you direct your customers once they enter your store? You can use wayfinder signage in various ways:

• Direct patrons to the newest arrivals with a large sign stating new inventory is this way.
• Add floor stickers showing the path to the checkout area.
• Use signage to indicate which products are in different areas of the store. If you sell an array of products, people might grow confused about where the item they need is located.

Think about the spot people are most likely to stand as they figure out the location they need. Can they see the sign from where they stand? Do you need to hang it from the ceiling? Think about the customer experience and what works best for them.

Should You Use Signs to Highlight Events?

In the findings from The Data Behind Digital Signage Systems, 68% of consumers reported that digital signage makes it more likely they’ll buy. With this in mind, you can:

• Invite people to special events for select customers.
• Announce upcoming sales or exciting products on the way.
• Host a guest speaker and advertise it on your signage to draw people to your store on a specific day and time.

The signs you use to announce special events should be big enough to grab attention but not as expensive as signs you hang up long-term. You’ll want to swap them out frequently.

Adding Signage

Bringing signage to your establishment adds a level of advertising you might not have explored before. You can hang signs in the windows, and use them to draw traffic or direct customers to specific displays. Always look at placement and size through the lens of the person who will view the sign. With a little effort, you’ll have another inexpensive promotion tool in your marketing arsenal.

Lexie Lu is a web designer and UX content strategist. She enjoys covering topics related to UX design, web design, social media and branding. Feel free to subscribe to her design blog, Design Roast.