When you want to sell your house, you’re often advised that remodeling can increase your home’s value significantly. It’s an investment—but it’s a worthwhile one. Similarly, if you pick the right places to remodel your c-store, you can get an immediate sales bump.

Case in point: monitors for digital signage.  You might be running a digital signage program, but is it as effective as it should be? Monitors have an important part to play.
Today’s monitors are much different from the monitors of old. Today, the standard is a 55-inch screen—soon to be replaced by a 65-inch one.

On top of all the size issues, you can’t support an old monitor remotely. That means you’ll need frequent help from store staff to support it, which, in turn, guarantees the device will be down for repairs for extended periods.

New monitors are also brighter and have better resolution. Those 32-inch displays from the past had a 720p resolution, and the 55-inch screens had a 1080p (which is full HD) one. Screens today are consistently in 4K, which means an image has more pixels (almost eight million) and provides a sharper, more dynamic picture. And these days, bezels are thinner; a large bezel is a sign of an outdated display.

Sometimes the issue isn’t that the tube is worn or the bezel is thick or scratched, although all those things might be true. The issue is that the application programming interface (API) isn’t there, so a c-store’s advertising and support teams don’t have the richness of data and control and the ability to manage the site properly. The lack of API denies your ability for true remote control, monitoring and diagnostics—all of which are crucial to creating a continuous uptime that’s a basic part of an engaging experience.

Stores also need to have great content for their great monitors. If a c-store has signage that’s colorful and vibrant and modern but an otherwise dated store, the messaging isn’t aligning. Similarly, if you invest in your in-store experience but don’t update things such as your digital signage and hardware, you’re only going halfway.

Finally, when looking at how you communicate on-site, you should not forget the forecourt.  Forecourt signage must build in-store traffic and create revisits.  For an impossible to ignore experience, Abierto’s Open.LED platform can bring a wow factor to any store. It’s a transparent LED film adheres to the inside of store windows and creates a large messaging canvas for you to deliver amazing digital messaging to customers in the forecourt and parking areas.

Your digital monitor and digital signage software need to work together. Upgrading your monitors isn’t just about keeping up with the times. It’s about creating a positive brand identity and association and about keeping customers engaged.