Why Digital Outdoor Advertising Works in Shopping Malls

When the Westfield Group rolled out more than 220 digital out of home (DOOH) advertising ‘pods’ in shopping malls across the USA in 2017, it caused quite a stir. The pods were so successful that in March 2019, Westfield installed more than 250 digital advertising pods across its two London-based shopping malls.

Westfield shopping malls welcome millions of visitors every year. What’s unique about those visitors is that they’re in a shopping mindset, which makes digital out of home advertising incredibly effective at influencing buying decisions.

Impulse buying in Britain is worth more than £21 billion to retailers. In a lifetime, the British shopper will spend close to £144,000 on impulse purchases.

In the age of digital signage, some of that spend will be as a result of well-positioned digital advertising inside shopping malls.

A number of consumer surveys show that shoppers take a ‘positive view’ of mall advertising and see digital screens as a great way to keep up to date with the latest trends, products, special offers and sales.

Consumers also identify that digital out of home advertising livens up their shopping experience.

Why is digital out of home advertising so effective inside shopping malls?

It immediately targets people in a shopping mindset, primed for impulse spending and because it’s much more dynamic, digital out of home advertising can be set to target consumers based on age, gender and more.

Targeting is key to the success of advertising in a shopping mall and digital displays allow you to do so much more to engage customers.

Combine simplified targeting with motion and eye-catching content and digital out of home advertising represents a winning formula for reaching customers.

According to a consumer study by myjar.com, the top five impulse purchases among British shoppers include:

• Food
• Fashion
• Technology
• Pet products
• Health and beauty products

Furthermore, the study shows that British shoppers are much more likely to part with their cash in-store than online.

Meanwhile, 13% of shoppers say they succumb to marketing and will buy on a whim after seeing an advert.

Digital out of home advertising works in shopping malls because it can tap into all the factors that influence shoppers to impulse buy.

Digital Outdoor Advertising in motion

Motion-driven digital advertising is particularly effective.

According to Neuroscience research, full-motion digital adverts have shown to be 250% more effective than static advertising.

Motion makes digital advertising more memorable too, particularly video-based content because people are more likely to pay attention to it.

In the age of smartphones and tablets, digital advertising simply taps into screen culture and it’s more likely that shoppers will connect with your brand online.

If you have an online advertising campaign built on video content, adding DOOH to the marketing mix will drive more people to the video, helping it perform better online and raising awareness of your brand.

Digital Outdoor Advertising directs

Capturing audience attention with a flash sale alert, video content or unmissable deals allows you to direct the next step of a shopper’s journey.

Digital outdoor advertising in a shopping mall can be used to direct customers right to your store.

Use a digital display as a wayfinding system that will bring customers through your door.

As part of your on-screen content, flash up an interactive map that tells customers exactly where you are in the mall so they can take advantage of your in-store sale and special offers.

Digital Outdoor Advertising interconnectivity

DOOH impacts shoppers long after they’ve left the shopping mall, commanding higher engagement levels online.

Shoppers engaging with digital displays at the mall are much more likely to interact with your brand online.

For instance, you can stream your social media pages on a shopping mall digital display and allow shoppers to like or follow your page right there, on the screen.

You now have a new follower you can market to on social media, all thanks to DOOH.

DOOH advertising in a shopping mall can also drive traffic to your website, where shoppers can make additional purchases and potentially sign up to receive your newsletter or other marketing material.

A DOOH advertising campaign can interconnect with all aspects of your marketing to enhance brand awareness.

Digital mall advertising for small businesses

The effectiveness of digital mall advertising is proven by the number of shopping malls investing in DOOH displays.

Small businesses can capitalise on the effectiveness of DOOH from as little as £150 per week. Bubble’s planning service will help you coordinate your shopping mall advertising campaign.

You can also check out the Bubble panel map to find the advertising solution that suits you. Just click on the “shopping centre” drop-down on the map menu on the left-hand side of the screen and select the “digital” option.

Enter a location and you can find digital assets in a wide range of locations. You can even select how many times your ad is displayed in a 120 second period, to get a reach that suits your budget.

As shopping malls open up again (some 24 hours a day) now is a great opportunity to take advantage of the possibilities of digital outdoor advertising in shopping malls.