Does In-Store Digital Signage Actually Work? Four Years of Data Say Yes

That’s what makes new research from Professor, Dhruv Grewal so compelling. Rather than small pilots or directional case studies, this work looks at digital signage at true retail scale: four years of data, 237 campaigns, multiple stores, and more than 30 million customer receipts. The goal wasn’t just to ask whether digital signage works, but when, how, and for whom it works best.

The answer, in short: it works – and often better than many marketers expect.

A rare thing in retail media: true causality

One of the biggest challenges with in-store media has always been attribution. Correlation is easy to find; causality is not. This study solves that problem through randomized, real-world A/B testing.

As shoppers entered stores, loyalty cards equipped with proximity chips randomly assigned them to either see a digital signage ad or not. Everything else about the shopping experience stayed the same. Purchases were then matched directly to exposure at checkout, creating clean, causal measurement rather than inference.

This matters. It means the results aren’t driven by “better stores,” “better shoppers,” or timing effects. They reflect what happens because a shopper saw a digital sign.

The baseline result: an 8.1% sales lift

Across all campaigns and conditions, digital signage delivered an average 8.1% lift in sales for advertised products. That number is remarkably consistent with Grewal’s earlier studies, despite this one being far larger and more rigorous.

For senior marketers, this is an important anchor. An 8% lift at the point of purchase—especially in categories with thin margins and high volume—is meaningful. But the real value of the research lies in what happens around that average.

Not all products benefit equally

Digital signage is especially powerful when it taps into impulse rather than deliberation.

Products with hedonic appeal, items associated with pleasure, indulgence, or emotion—performed far better than purely utilitarian products. When impulse control is low and attention is fragmented (as it often is in-store), signage nudges shoppers toward “that looks good” decisions.

New products stood out even more. Campaigns featuring novel items delivered lifts approaching 25%. In crowded aisles where new SKUs often go unnoticed, digital signage acts as a spotlight—helping shoppers register what they would otherwise walk past.

Well-known brands also benefited disproportionately. Familiarity reduces cognitive friction. When shoppers recognize a brand instantly, signage doesn’t have to explain—it simply reminds.

Lower-priced products performed better than higher-priced ones, as expected. Interestingly, discounts didn’t amplify the effect of signage. Discounted items sold more overall, but digital signage didn’t stack additional lift on top of the promotion. In other words: discounts work, signage works—but they don’t necessarily multiply each other.

Context matters more than marketers think

One of the most useful contributions of the study is how deeply it examines shopping context.

Digital signage performed better:

• Later in the day, when shoppers are more tired and impulse control drops
• On weekends, when shopping is less rushed
• In sunny weather, when mood is more positive
• In crowded stores, where cognitive overload makes simple cues more influential

This reinforces a critical idea for retail media strategy: signage doesn’t operate in isolation. Its effectiveness rises and falls with human energy, mood, and attention—factors that are often invisible in traditional planning models.

Emotional messages win

Not all creative is equal. Campaigns using emotional or inspirational messaging outperformed purely informational ads by a wide margin, driving an additional 11–12% conversion lift.

That finding aligns with how shoppers actually behave. In-store decisions are largely subconscious. Messages that trigger feeling—not facts—fit the mental state shoppers are already in.

No evidence of future sales cannibalization

A common concern among manufacturers is whether in-store media simply pulls demand forward, leading to weaker sales later. This study found no evidence of that effect.

Shoppers exposed to digital signage bought more in the moment—but they didn’t stockpile and reduce future purchases. From a brand perspective, that makes digital signage closer to demand creation than demand shifting.

Why this matters now

Retail media is already one of the highest-margin businesses in physical retail, with margins often exceeding 70–90%. This research helps explain why, and why retailers are doubling down on it. But the bigger story is what comes next.

Grewal points to artificial intelligence and large language models as the force that could radically expand signage effectiveness. When creative can be personalized cheaply and dynamically – based on loyalty data, prior purchases, or context – the cost barrier disappears. Ads that once took weeks and thousands of dollars can now be generated in minutes for cents.

If today’s average lift is 8%, the combination of AI-driven personalization and digital signage could push that much higher.

For senior marketers, the implication is clear: in-store digital signage has moved from “interesting” to “strategic.” The data is finally catching up to the belief, and the opportunity is only getting bigger.