Signage Market Size, Industry Analysis And Opportunities
Signage refers to any kind of visuals, graphics, signs, or symbols that are used to communicate a specific message to a specific group. Generally used for the purpose of marketing/ advertising, signage is found both indoor and outdoor.
The signage market size is greater than one could have comprehended. Spanning the retail, hospitality, stadiums, healthcare, corporate, banking, entertainment, education, and transportation sectors, the industry is all set to continue on an upward trend in the coming years as well.
Specifically, digital signage has seen increasing adoption in retail space, commercial verticals, and infrastructure needs in developing economies. Digital signage helps retailers to manage queues, synchronize video walls, deliver targeted messages, cultivate brand awareness, as well as resell and cross-sell successfully. All in all, signage serves as a powerful driver of positive consumer decision making.
Signage market size and industry analysis
The signage industry has progressed rapidly in the last decade or so due to the increase in innovative commercial products and complex financial ones, ranging from leak detector systems and home monitoring systems, to forex cards. Both categories require captivating, informative, and succinct advertising, and nothing stands and aces all these tests like visuals and graphics. The popularity and potency of signages grew from there.
- The signage market size has already crossed an estimated valuation of $49.6 billion. Major industries making use of the power of signage are CPG, FBT, pharmaceutical, and retail.
- Due to buyers’ increased focus on supplier consolidation opportunities, suppliers are expanding into new geographic domains.
- The high market maturity regions are the U.S., China, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, and the UK. Medium market maturity regions include Peru, parts of Eastern Europe, and major parts of Asia and LATAM.
- Suppliers are also expanding the services they offer and their portfolio to bring in a large share of buyers’ trade marketing spend. Current key players include Samsung Electronics, Panasonic Corporation, LG Electronics, Microsoft Corporation, Winmate Communication Inc.
- Print signage is facing tough competition from digital signage. However, its relative cheapness and longer life span are helping it to survive as is the development of new technology and inkjet printing. These lead to attractive and high-definition printed signage.
However, issues with connectivity, networking, hardware compatibility, and electrical interface are likely to create hiccoughs in the status quo and in the future of digital signage.
Signage market opportunities and global outlook
- The global market for signage is expected to go up to $49.8 billion by 2020, while the Australian market is expected to leap beyond $130 million by 2020. This is by virtue of signage’s expansion into new sectors like financial services and public transport.
- The popularity and necessity of signage are slowly but surely rising in the overall in-store promotions category strategy.
- Demand for both digital and physical signage is expected to rise due to the expansion of the retail market in developing nations. As modern retail expands, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities of Asia and LATAM, signage suppliers will look to benefit from this growth and develop a home base just like the retailers.
- To ensure coherent and aligned visual appearance both in-store and online, suppliers will increasingly adopt advanced technology. This will be a noticeable trend in both matured and emerging markets.
- The increase in online shopping has also increased the importance of signage and will continue to rise as the e-commerce phenomenon also shows the same trend. Customers conduct online research and check out store offerings long before they step into a physical store. This increases the importance of attractive and clear visuals, further boosting the popularity of signages.
- There have been speculations about whether the increase in online shopping will translate into a declining market for in-store signages. The answer is an emphatic no since brands need to create a cohesive experience for customers, it seems unlikely that the market for in-store signages is about to fade any time soon. Some of the signages and visual branding that was done online would have to be replicated physically as well to ensure this flow and allay dissonance inexperience. This will keep the need for well-crafted signages, alive.
- The U.S. and Europe have been the top markets for signage in recent years. However, going forward India and China will take the cake as well due to the expansion in the advertising industry, reduced cost of panels, and an increase in visual/ graphic talent.
Overall, the signage market has a positive outlook globally and in any specific region, one would care to zoom in on. The rise in technology has only added another domain that has led to its popularity. Hence, while offline retail, offline banking, offline transport, etc. were established markets, other sectors such as online retail, online banking, and online transport, have transformed into strong and lucrative markets of their own.