Sign of the Times

Supermarket signage reflects the new technologies that are so vital to the industry.

Call it supermarket semiotics — the study of signs — but whatever it’s called, food retailers are depending more than ever on exterior and interior signs to draw and guide their increasingly sophisticated shoppers.

“We have a vertical sales channel that is focused on the grocery and supermarket channel — that is where we begin the new development process,” says Erich Bockley, signage portfolio manager at Osram Sylvania, in Danvers, Mass. “The voice-of-the-customer insights that are gained from our customer interactions are integrated into the early stages of our product development cycle to ensure that we fully understand the requirements of our end users.”

Bockley feels that signage technology is continuing to advance at the same “rapid pace” as the light-emitting diode (LED) industry. “Supermarket signage — both interior and exterior — is inevitably going to convert to LED,” he says. “The energy, life, maintenance and image benefits for supermarkets in exterior applications are too great to ignore. Additionally, the ease of installation and application flexibility of LEDs in interior signage applications will provide supermarkets with an array of options to enhance the shopper experience; direct the customers in vibrant, engaging ways; and differentiate the brand of the store from competitors.”

Bockley cites Osram Sylvania’s line of LED Border Flex tubing in a variety of colors that mimics the look of neon and can be used in any number of exterior and interior applications for a distinctive, decorative touch or for functional, informational purposes. “With the use of LEDs, supermarket signage will become an integrated design element of the store that serves to inform, direct and delight customers as they walk through the door,” he says.

Osram Sylvania recently launched a product line of LED BackLED and BoxLED modules specifically targeted to illuminate channel letters and box signs in both interior and exterior applications, notes Bockley, who says these products have higher efficiencies and longer lifetimes than the traditional neon and fluorescent products that they replace, and will lower energy consumption and maintenance costs for retailers. Bockley asserts there are immeasurable benefits to having signage that doesn’t suffer from outages or dark letters.

For interior retail use, Osram Sylvania has introduced a line of LED Tin Panel products in a variety of sizes that can be hung on a wall, in a window, or from the ceiling, much like a picture frame. They are edge-lit with LEDs, Bockley says, to provide background to light signage, graphics, photos, advertisements, POP information, menu boards or specials. “And changing graphics in them is literally a snap,” he notes.

Dave Lyons, marketing creative director at The Blanc Industries Signage & Display Group, in Dover, N.J., says his company has developed a quick-response (QR) program, an application offering value-added information to shoppers.

“The QR codes are embedded in our item inserts, which are scanned by consumers using their smartphones to instantly access product information, recipes or any customized content,” he says. “Our scan-and-select technology provides customers with optimal exposure to on-demand nutrition, recipes, buying and storage tips, and any additional customization customers request or require.”

Blanc Industries has designed an in-store “Fresh Food 411” kiosk that the QR program complements, Lyons further explains. For example, a consumer can select a cheese that she always wanted to try and get all of the information about that particular item, along with a recipe and even a wine and beer pairing, offering the potential for a retailer to sell products in multiple departments.

“With the need to educate consumers about products, and technology spilling into shopping online and through smartphones,” Lyons says, “I see the shopping experience being at the consumer’s fingertips with a scan of the item signage using the smartphone. The benefits could be item facts, coupons and special loyalty pricing. It is already prevalent in the retail shopping experience when advertisements and products are being customized to consumers’ shopping habits.”

At Signs Manufacturing & Maintenance Corp., in Dallas, General Manager James Watson says that full-color video displays are used by every business, including grocery stores, and “successful supermarkets also illuminate their buildings with LED border tubing as well, to create a memorable first impression for their customers.”

His company, Watson says, fabricates full-color and monochrome video displays that are ETL-listed so that they can be installed in any marketplace.

“Very soon,” he predicts, “all successful supermarkets will have high-resolution LED video displays prominently displayed on their pylon monument signs. These displays will show the store’s specials, advertisements, welcoming messages and other messages. The marketing strategy for the supermarket will be geared around this sign, because it is the No. 1 advertising tool that a business can have, and advertises to its most likely customers — the people who live and work in that area.”

“The ease of installation and application flexibility of LEDs in interior signage applications will provide supermarkets with an array of options to enhance the shopper experience.”
–Erich Bockley, Osram Sylvania