How Digital Displays Help Sell Fast Food
MVS Sign outside of McDonald's in California
In a new study, the firm cites testimonials from unnamed users of digital reader boards saying that the displays have increased their business by between nine and 20 percent, as well as U.S. Small Business Administration figures suggesting sales uplifts can range from 15 to 150 percent.
Working with the lowest of these figures – a nine percent uplift – Daktronics then calculates that if a quick-service restaurant (QSR) with gross annual sales of $1.175m and a gross margin of 68 percent spends $30,000 on a digital reader board, sales over the year will increase by just under $72,000.
That represents a return on investment in the first year of nearly 240 percent.
“A digital reader board with effective messages typically will pay for itself within four to 18 months,” the firm concludes.
But “the return is proportional to the content quality displayed on the digital reader board and its integration into a marketing campaign”, cautions Daktronics.
The boards are also more effective than conventional media on the basis of cost per thousand exposures (CPM), argues Daktronics.
Taking the Seattle area as an example, the company says that the main local newspaper carries a CPM of at least $22.52, TV at least $5.14, and radio at least $1.80, against just $0.35 for a digital reader board.
Daktronics also argues that heavy commuters – those most likely to pass a digital reader board regularly – are less exposed than other segments of the population to newspapers and TV, necessitating another way to reach them.
Other factors making digital reader boards attractive to QSR operators, according to the display manufacturer, are that they attract attention; can promote multiple different products and services, changing according to the time of day; are safer and quicker to update than non-digital boards; and encourage impulse buys, which account for nearly 40 percent of fast-food restaurant business.
originally posted on screen.tv.com
