Does Digital Signage Increase Sales? What the Research Shows
Yes, digital signage can increase sales, and the strongest evidence comes from a controlled study, not a vendor claim. A 2025 Journal of Marketing field experiment across 237 campaigns and 30 million shoppers found that in-store digital signage raised the likelihood of buying a featured product by 8.1%. The lift is real, and it depends on what you promote, where the screen sits, and how often you refresh the content.
What the strongest study actually found
The Journal of Marketing study by Herhausen, de Jong, and Grewal used randomized A/B testing, so it measured cause and effect rather than a loose correlation. Beyond the 8.1% average lift, it reported an advertising elasticity of 0.18, about 50% higher than typical brand advertising, and an average gross ROI near 21%. The effect was larger for lower-priced, novel, and impulse-friendly products, and for brands shoppers already recognized.
That nuance matters. The lift concentrates on items people decide to buy in the moment. It shrinks for considered, high-price purchases that shoppers plan in advance.
Why screens lift sales at the point of decision
Most purchase decisions happen inside the store, near the shelf or the register. A screen placed there reaches shoppers when they are ready to act. Nielsen point-of-sale research found that four out of five brands advertised on in-store digital screens saw unit sales rise by up to 33%, with prompted brand recall climbing as much as 31%.
Three things make screens effective at that moment:
Timing: content reaches shoppers seconds before they choose.
Motion: video and animation draw the eye better than static print.
Relevance: you can show the right promotion for the day, the hour, or the weather.
Screens lift sales most on the items people decide to buy in the moment
The honest limits
Signage is a strong nudge, and it comes with limits worth naming:
Attribution is directional
In a live store, price, staffing, and stock all move sales at the same time, so isolating the screen's exact contribution is hard without controlled testing.
Results vary by category
Impulse and low-cost items respond best, and big researched purchases respond least.
Signage does not change your Google ranking
It can drive branded searches and store visits, and it does not directly move search results.
How Beam helps: sell more, then earn from idle time
Here is what most signage advice skips. Your screens sit idle for large parts of the day. Beam lets you fill that idle time two ways: promote your own offers, and open unsold slots to approved third-party advertisers who pay to appear. Out-of-home advertising is proven to drive action.
An OAAA and Harris Poll survey found that 76% of people who recently saw a digital out-of-home ad took action afterward. That demand is why advertisers will pay for screen time in real venues like yours.
Beam runs your signage and your ad income from one place. Schedule your own promotions by daypart, update every screen remotely in seconds, and switch on the Beam Network to earn from idle slots. You keep control of what shows and when, so house promotions always come first and paid ads fill the gaps.
How to get a real sales lift from your screens
Promote impulse and margin-friendly items, not your whole catalog.
Place screens at the decision point: the queue, the counter, the shelf.
Refresh content weekly so regulars keep noticing it.
Match promotions to daypart, so mornings, lunch, and evenings each get the right message.
Measure with a simple before-and-after on the promoted items.
The bottom line
Digital signage increases sales when you promote the right products in the right spot and keep the content fresh. The controlled evidence points to a roughly 8% lift in featured items, and higher for impulse buys. With Beam, the same screens can also earn ad revenue during idle time, so one install works two ways.
Ready to lift sales and earn from idle screen time? See how Beam works at usebeam.io
Sources
Herhausen, de Jong and Grewal, "In-Store Advertising with Digital Signage," Journal of Marketing (2025): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00222429251351578
Nielsen study: DOOH increases revenue at the point of sale (Digital Signage Today): https://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/news/nielsen-study-dooh-increases-revenue-at-the-point-of-sale-2/
OAAA and The Harris Poll, digital out-of-home drives favorability and action (2024): https://oaaa.org/news/new-study-finds-digital-out-of-home-advertising-surpasses-other-media-in-driving-favorability-and-action-among-consumers/
How much can digital signage increase sales?
Controlled research indicates an average lift of about 8.1% for featured products, and Nielsen reports increases of up to 33% for some brands at the point of sale. Your result depends on the products you promote and where the screen sits.
Does digital signage work for small businesses?
Yes. A single screen at the counter can promote high-margin items to customers who are already deciding what to buy. The lift comes from placement and timing, not from screen count.
What products sell best on digital signage?
Impulse buys, new arrivals, and lower-priced items respond most, along with brands customers already know. High-price, heavily researched purchases respond least.
Can I measure the sales impact?
You can measure it directionally. Run a before-and-after on the items you promote, and compare weeks with and without the screen. Treat the numbers as a guide, because a busy store has many moving parts.
Can my screens make money beyond my own sales?
Yes. With the Beam Network, you can open idle screen time to approved advertisers and earn revenue while still running your own promotions first.