Published . Updated .
A digital window display is an LED screen in your shop window that shows new stock, seasonal lines and reviews to people walking past, then switches to your opening hours or a QR code for your online store after you close.
With so much shopping now done online, a physical shop has to give passers-by a reason to stop. A digital screen in the window does that. Light and movement catch the eye of people who would walk straight past a printed poster, and the message can change as often as your stock does.
Why a screen works in a shop window
People walking past are often looking at their phones. A bright, moving picture in the window is one of the few things that gets them to look up, and once they have looked, a clear message gives them a reason to come in.
Even people who don’t come in today may remember what they saw. A shopper who notices a new range on the way to work can come back for it on Saturday, so the screen keeps working long after they have walked past.
How bright does a window screen need to be?
A shop window can get full sun for part of the day, and a screen that is not bright enough washes out. LED screens can be made bright enough to read in direct sun. Our OA2 series is made for screens seen up close, such as shopfront ads, and stays clear in direct sun. Our AP2 indoor poster screens are a slim 88 mm, made for shopfronts and shopping centres, and several can join into one big screen. The brochures for both are on Brochures & Guides.
What should you show in your window?
- New products. Photos and video of what has just come in.
- Seasonal lines. Use the colours people link with the time of year: festive reds at Christmas, soft pastels in spring, warm golds and oranges in autumn.
- Product details. Sizes, colours and what a product does, so customers know what they want before they walk in.
- Your brand story. A poster has room for a few words. A screen can tell people who you are, where your products come from and why you do what you do.
- Reviews. Real comments from happy customers, word for word.
- Coming soon. A preview of products arriving next week gives people a reason to come back.
Change it when you close
A window screen keeps working after hours. Show a “come in” message while you are open, then switch to your opening hours, or a QR code for your online store, once the doors are locked. Set it up once and the screen changes over on its own.
Hang it, mount it or stand it
Screens can hang from the ceiling, mount on a wall or stand on the floor, so they suit windows of most shapes and sizes. For a bigger display, several panels can join into one video wall across the window.
Which pixel pitch suits a shop window?
People look at a window screen from a few metres away, so it needs a small pixel pitch to look sharp. As a rough rule, the pitch in millimetres is about the distance in metres from which the picture looks smooth, so a P4 screen looks smooth from about 4 metres. Our guide to pixel pitch explains it, and the pixel pitch planner shows how a shop ad looks at different pitches.
Tips for window content
- Put your shop name or logo on every slide, so people know whose window it is.
- Keep the words to a minimum and let the pictures do the work.
- Mount the screen at eye height for people walking past, and keep stickers and stands from blocking it.
- Change the content at least once a week, so regulars see something new.
Follow through inside
The window gets people through the door. A second screen inside can point them to the product they saw, or show more about it. Our guide to retail digital signage from window to checkout covers the rest of the store.
Shops we have worked with
Our retail projects include signs for IGA and Barbaro Butchers. You can see them in our projects.
See LED signs for shops and shopfronts and our full colour LED screens. To try a screen before you buy, hire one. Get a free quote, or call Aaron on 0416 053 335 or the office on (08) 9335 7944.
