How to promote flash sales with digital signage?

DEAL! LIMITED TIME ONLY! HURRY UP, IT SELLS FAST! Do these words look familiar? They are all examples of flash sales advertising. They have been around since the dawn of marketing, and they still are at the core of the strategies of the majority of retailers and e-commerce platforms. But we’re here to talk about advertising flash sales through digital signage. How it’s done, why you should do it, and what are the best examples? Read on to discover more!

What is a flash sale?

A flash sale is a promotion, deal, or discount that is only offered for a limited time. 

The “flash” in the name refers to this limited character and it’s fundamental to understanding why this marketing tactic works as it does. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the best examples of the short period of time when flash sales are offered by companies worldwide. 

But the concept is much broader than that. It can be used creatively and there are no defined rules on the time span. The sale can be valid for an hour, for a day, or for a week. What matters, though, is that the audience reacts to the offer and engages with the proposition.

Why do flash sales work? 

Flash sales are a product of a phenomenon called scarcity marketing. 

Scarcity marketing is a tactic that capitalizes on the customer’s FOMO (or fear of missing out). 

Urgency is at the core of flash sales and that’s the primary drive for the customers to make purchases. This leads to impulsive buying, another key to understanding the mechanism of flash sales. The latter is defined as an action of making an unplanned purchase. 

So the reasons why flash sales advertising works are: 

1) impulse customer decision-making that is influenced by the limited character of the sale offered

2) FOMO drives sales as the customer is afraid to lose a good deal 

3) immediate boost in revenue 

4) expanding the customer base 

5) increased levels of customer engagement 

6) social media and traditional media buzz

7) exposure to more potential customers 

Although flash sales have a myriad of benefits, there are some cons that you should consider too. Every marketing action should have tact and clearly understand its target audience. The same is true for launching a flash sales advertising campaign. 

It should be relevant to your customers, not overly intrusive, and honest. A campaign that is not thought out can lead to disengaged customers, reputational damage, and overall sales fatigue.

So be sure to duly prepare for your flash sale launch and ensure that it hits all the right notes with your target customer base. 

Flash sales advertising and digital signage

Screen technology is fantastic for customer engagement. That fact is what makes it such a good match for flash sales advertising. 

Displays allow you to: 

- instantly grab the attention of the customer

- experiment with various content types

- adapt according to the target audience

- realize stunning visual campaigns 

- bring the power of AI, AR, and VR to life by bridging the gap between offline and online

Flash sales in offline retail

While flash sales are largely associated with online stores nowadays, they are as effective offline as they are within the e-commerce space. 

There’s a huge difference, though. When it comes to brick-and-mortar stores, the sale is immediate and the customer doesn’t bounce the way he does on the internet. 

Offline is where retail digital signage shines. Launching flash sales campaigns via in-store screens is the way to go.

Here are some flash sales promotion examples that will help you craft the killer campaign of your own

- in-store pop-ups promoting certain limited offer products 

The 101 of flash sales marketing is a good old pop-up. Sure, it is an online term, but screens allow you to direct customers to the products that you’re emphasizing. 

- window screens for attracting customers to engage in flash sales

Whether it’s in a shopping mall or on the street, window screens can instantly capture the attention of passers-by and bring people to your store for browsing and purchasing. 

- FOMO-inducing content

It’s one thing to advertise on the internet when the customer doesn’t physically buy a product and has to wait for some time to get it. It’s a whole different game to induce the FOMO to a customer who can have the product right away in the store. Use screens for that.

- visualizing the prices

An attractive price combined with limited character does flash sales magic. Nail it within the brick-and-mortar space by using digital signage to visualize the price better and lead customers straight to the cash desk.