A new killer app is set to be rolled out in Australia – it's called Retail TV. Developed initially by 4Square Media linked company Zerone, Retail TV is set to deliver content inside retail stores across Australia. The infrastructure for the project will be supplied by Telstra.

4Square Media, publishers of SmartHouse magazine and the SmartHouse and SmartOffice Reseller magazines, will generate content spanning retail training, as well as content for a network of touch screens that can be used by retail staff to interactively sell goods and services. Another key feature of Retail TV is the ability to barcode products, as well as brochures, so that details of the product can be displayed on screen in an interactive MP3 or MP4 format once the barcode has been scanned by either a consumer or in-store staff.

Retail TV had its first public airing at the recent Retail Expo in Sydney. Telstra displayed an in-store Retail TV electronic signage system, running on a plasma screen, along with a barcode system running on a DVD multimedia display. Research shows that 70 per cent of purchase decisions are made after a consumer has walked into a retail location, and stores like Circuit City and Best Buy in the USA are reporting big sale increases after installing a retail TV system. In the UK, Tesco has been running a network for more than 18 months with major advertisers like Proctor & Gamble and Nestle cutting back free-to-air TV budgets in favour of in-store TV systems. Among the companies set to trial the Retail TV network in Australia are Woolworths, who will showcase it in their Big W stores.

For IT and Consumer Entertainment vendors, the opportunities are endless as Retail TV runs on an open-standards IP backbone which will allow the operators to hook up thousands of small retailers, solution providers and integrators into one network. Telstra will be responsible for broadband delivery, storage of content, screen roll-out and in-store infrastructure. Content will be a mix of live feeds and delayed content.
In most cases a day's program for a particular retail store will be pushed to the location overnight, with content being run in individual in-store locations. This will allow vendors to launch new products and services from a TV studio, and then follow up with both training and interactive consumer presentation modules.

Among the channels will be lifestyle technology, health and beauty, food and beverages, and fashion. Each channel can be customised with content only displayed in the appropriate locations. The channels can be over-ridden for a network broadcast, whether it is for brand or promotion advertising. For IT companies and AV professionals, the launch of Retail TV opens up new business opportunities.
Free-to-air TV advertising is dying, billboards are being replaced by electronic display systems, and point of sale in shopping centres is being replaced by high-tech electronic displays which prompt consumer interaction where products and services are being sold. The digital signage industry has reached the ‘buzz' stage in its evolution. People are talking because virtually everyone notices the impact of high-resolution digital displays in an airport, a shopping mall, or some other public place, and the potential of other applications is not hard to imagine.

For companies like Panasonic and Sony, digital signage means big business. Both companies displayed their wares at the recent Retail Expo in Sydney and among the solutions on offer were plasma touch screens and content management systems
I have been involved with Retail TV since day one, and way before Telstra or advertising group TCG became involved. What I recognised was that we were moving into a true convergence marketplace where back-end IT databases and management systems could be integrated with broadband and, above all, a new generation of screen technology.

Converging Technologies
Digital signage is a new industry that has developed from the collision of several new product technologies, and the reality of conducting business in the internet age. Take one part flat-screen display, add really cheap computing power and readily-available communications bandwidth, stir in software that is part PowerPoint and part database content generated over a .net network, and you have the recipe for the digital signage movement. When you also consider what is happening in the media and retailing industries, it's no wonder everybody is talking about digital signage.

State of the Industry
Digital signage is expected to surpass $2 billion in overall revenues by 2009. The hardware and integration segment of this is somewhere around $500 million. By comparison, the data projector market, which has been developing for more than 15 years, is also around $2 billion.
Digital signage can be segmented into several different markets and categories. Cap Ventures in the US recently did a global study of the US market. They estimate there are approximately 2.7 million potential sites for digital signage or "narrowcasting," as they call it. Samples of this market total include more than 45,000 shopping malls, 794 airports, 1.12 million retail sites, 545,000 hospitality and entertainment locations, and 739,000 service-oriented locations such as financial and health service locations as well as service stations. The number of these locations that are currently using digital signage is infinitesimal compared to the total number of opportunities. The take-away message here is that there is tremendous opportunity in your geographic market, and probably among the customers you already serve.

Value for the end user
End users' interest in digital signage is based on a strategic imperative. Retailers are interested in digital signage because it can create a more compelling environment for their customers. It can attract customers to come into their store. Once the customers are there, it can help them move into and through the store, provide cross-selling and co-marketing opportunities, and influence the purchase of items the retailer most wants to sell.
This enhanced experience doesn't always need to be about sales, either.  At Nike stores, for example, Nike and Downstream Digital (the network operator) have created programs that inform customers about local activities and sporting events.
The programs also show rich images evoking the emotions that Nike wants customers to associate with using its products. During a recent visit to a shopping mall in the USA, I saw a display network in the Ralph Lauren stores. Displayed on the screens were the latest fashion designs. In a little over 30 minutes eight people who had watched the screens chose to try on garments.

COLLABORATION IN THE INDUSTRY
While one company might act as general contractor, each individual company can play a role in these projects – especially the larger projects. For example, Telstra could well outsource the installation of tens of thousands of screens at retail locations.
We are approaching a rare moment in the development of a new business. Several factors that can influence its development are converging. Prices of the required technologies are declining rapidly. Awareness of, and demand for, the capabilities this business can provide are growing rapidly. Market leaders and de-facto standards have yet to emerge, and the skilled workforce and knowledge base are there. Business models
are being refined, and financial interest is beginning to develop.
The opportunities for established, experienced, and committed pro AV integrators and contractors will probably never be better than they are right now. Don't miss it.

SmartOffice Reseller editorial director and CEO David Richards has a direct involvement with Retail TV.