Digital Signage for Convenience Stores
Long hours, small margins, a constant stream of offers. A screen by the till earns its keep quickly.
Convenience stores change their offers weekly, open long hours and have a queue at the till several times a day. A screen replaces the paper posters taped to the window and the counter, and it changes on a schedule you set once.
Where the screens go
- The window, facing out: this week's offers, the coffee deal, opening hours. It works at night too, when the paper posters are invisible.
- Above the till, facing the queue: the checkout promotion, loyalty sign-up, tobacco and lottery notices, age-check reminders.
- The coffee machine or food-to-go corner: a small menu with prices and the meal deal.
What changes, and when
The weekly offers are a playlist with a start and end date, so last week's poster never stays up by accident. The morning coffee-and-pastry deal runs 06:00–10:00, the lunch meal deal 11:00–14:00, and the evening slide after 17:00, all on schedule rules. A supplier promotion with specific dates gets its own rule. None of this needs anyone in the store to remember.
Running several stores
Group screens by store, or tag them "window" and "till", and assign playlists to the group. The weekly offers edited once go to every store. One store with a local offer keeps its own slide on top. The dashboard shows which screens are online and what they are playing, with a screenshot on demand, so head office doesn't need a store visit to check.
Hardware
The TV above the till is often already there. An Android TV box or a Raspberry Pi running the free CastWize player goes behind it; the player caches its content and keeps playing if the connection drops. For a window in direct sun a brighter commercial display helps, but the software is the same. Shopping list in Set Up a Screen for Under $200.
Cost
$5 per screen per month, every feature included, no contract; the first screen is free for 30 days. A store with a window screen and a till screen pays $10 a month. More on retail setups: digital signage for retail stores.
Frequently asked questions
Can the offers change every week without me doing it on the day?
Yes. Make next week's slides in advance with a start and end date. They go live and come down on those dates automatically.
Can head office update every store at once?
Yes. Group screens by store and assign one playlist to the group. An edit goes to every store within seconds; a single store can have its own extra slides.
Does it keep playing overnight if the internet drops?
Yes. The player caches its content. The screen keeps playing, shows as offline in the dashboard, and catches up when the connection returns.
More from the blog
Café Menu Board on a TV: How to Set One Up
Turn the TV behind the counter into a café menu board that switches from breakfast to lunch on its own.
Digital Signage for Bakeries
A counter screen for today's bakes, prices that change when the tray does, and a sold-out slide that takes two taps.
Digital Menu Boards for Pizzerias
Sizes, toppings and deals on a screen you update from your phone, with a lunch-slice board that appears at noon.
Ready to put your first screen up?
First screen free for 30 days, no credit card required.