NEC Display Solutions Client Installation Retail / Food and Beverage
Marks & Spencer Café
Digital menu boards increase customer engagement
One of the UK’s leading retailers, Marks & Spencer’s heritage began in 1884 as a single market stall. The much loved brand now sells through 870 stores providing customers with high quality, own brand food, clothing and home products, seeking to make every moment special.
The Challenge
Traditional, static signage becomes quickly out of date, requiring manual replacement as seasonal menus and pricing changes. Its time consuming and costly. Marks & Spencer saw an opportunity to modernise the appearance of their Fenchurch Street café, seeking to engage their customers and give them a stake in their brand by installing four digital menu boards directly above the servery as a direct replacement for traditional signage.
The NEC Solution
The installation was designed and managed by Instoremedia using NEC display technology. Mounted in landscape against the partition wall, the four slim V Series displays are configured to create a ribbon of bright, attractive signage. With a brightness of 500 cd/m² the content is easily viewable against bright instore lighting yet automatically adapts to suit the ambient conditions ensuring reduced power consumption and eye pleasing luminosity levels.
“Working with NEC means we can be sure of excellent support. The product is highly reliable and ideally suited to the rigors of operation over long periods in public spaces delivering highly engaging content,” says John Muir, managing director at Instoremedia.
Powered by Instoremedia’s digital signage software, dynamic content not only enables Marks & Spencer to create a stunning visual marketing display, but also to match the products advertised to their audience and integrate new digital and mobile technologies into their estate as and when they arise.
The Instoremedia CMS offers a very efficient way to maximise the utility of content, as text and prices on the menu can be changed without adapting any designs. This means content can be refreshed without having to commission new layouts. Furthermore, Marks & Spencer digital menus should improve compliance. There is no longer a disconnect between head office and the shop, as menus, timings and promotions are directly controlled by Marks & Spencer hospitality.
The Instoremedia software also has a well-developed API which is constantly updated. This makes integration with external systems easy, but also future proofs the system, making new hardware and software easy to integrate with it. This is an important consideration for operators such as Marks & Spencer, giving them the opportunity both to deploy new, low cost and eco-friendly hardware and potentially to add intelligence and personalisation to their marketing at the point of sale.
The Results
Weary shoppers find a welcome break in the fresh, modern surrounds with enticing images from which to select their menu choices. Whilst their customers enjoy an enhanced service, Marks & Spencer benefits from more efficient operations and the opportunity to increase engagement with their customers in the future.
NEC Products
| LCD 55" Midrange Large Format Display | |
| Size | 55inch |
| Haze Level | Pro |
| Operating Hours | 24/7 |
| Brightness | 500 cd/m² |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |