From Print to Pixel: Digital Signage as a Sustainability Strategy in Visual Merchandising

सार

In the past, visual merchandising has often depended on the use of printed point-of-sale (POS) materials, temporary props, and short-term display equipment leading the retail industry to waste a large amount of products and energy in its supply chain. As sustainability acquires more relevance for retailers, digital signs have shown up as the technology enabling to reduce this footprint and improve customer engagement and sales at the same time. Nevertheless, research on visual merchandising dealt with digital signage from the behavioral and experiential points of view, while studies on sustainability mostly focus on ‘green’ aspects of merchandising, such as eco-friendly materials and store design leaving aside the question of how digital signage can contribute to sustainability. This conceptual paper aims at combining findings from visual merchandising, retail atmospherics, and digital signage studies and creating a framework that would connect digital signage adoption to three outcomes of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social. The paper proposes the concept of digital sustainability paradox whereby the ecological benefits of less usage of paper and materials may be offset by energy consumption, e-waste, and embodied power of the technology itself. The paper has made a contribution to theory by locating digital signage within the context of sustainable visual merchandising so that retailers can assess their investment in this technology from the standpoint of the triple-bottom-line.

Keywords: digital signage, visual merchandising, sustainable retailing, store atmosphere, point-of-sale technology, green retailing strategy