Sendik`s enhances the shopper experience with an NEC display in

Case Study
Sendik’s enhances the shopper experience with
an NEC display in every department
Quick Facts
Facility: Sendik’s Food Market
Location: Greater Milwaukee metro area
Challenge: Communicate more effectively with
shoppers
Solution: 42” NEC V421
Date: October 2010
the store, and that it limited the store’s ability to react
to market pressures, particularly price fluctuations. The
socially responsible retailer was also concerned about the
environmental impact of using so much paper for so little
time. Ultimately they determined that they needed a less
costly, more agile and more attractive means of delivering
information to shoppers.
The Challenge
Procter & Gamble Co. defines the “First Moment of Truth”
for consumer packaged goods as the three to seven
seconds after a shopper first encounters a product on the
store shelf. In their estimation, that brief period of time is
all retailers have to influence purchasing decisions and turn
browsers into buyers.
The razor-thin margins in the grocery industry constantly
put pressure on retailers to drive down costs. But in 2010, an
economy in its third year of sluggish performance, coupled
with a spike in wholesale costs due to rising gas prices,
brought a new sense of urgency to the need for cost-cutting.
Since its founding in 1926, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based
Sendik’s Food Market had relied on paper signage to help
shoppers make decisions during that First Moment of Truth.
Printed posters, circulars, shelf talkers and other materials
attracted attention and kept shoppers informed of special
offers, weekly sales and other information.
One area that came under scrutiny immediately was
printing costs for in-store signage. While it is critical for
shoppers to see information about featured and sale
items during their First Moment of Truth at the shelf, it
was becoming increasingly difficult to justify the cost
of producing, printing, transporting and putting up the
signage in the stores.
As the face and pace of the grocery business has changed
over the last few years, Sendik’s was finding that generating
paper signage cost too much to produce and set up in
“Like everything else, printing costs had gone up in the last
couple of years,” said Paul Doty, director of information
technology at Sendik’s Food Markets. “The process was
With roughly 25 bright NEC screens installed throughout each of its stores, complementing an existing refined ambience and vast
selection of foods and household goods, Sendik’s Market provides its customers with a truly unique shopping experience.
necdisplay.com
getting difficult to manage, and we were finding that
sometimes the sale was nearly over by the time the printed
signs appeared in the stores. We knew there had to be a
better way of delivering this important information to our
shoppers.”
The Sendik’s management team thought digital signage
might provide the alternative they were seeking. While the
creative costs would be roughly the same, the printing,
shipping and in-store labor costs would be eliminated, and
pricing information could be changed in minutes if market
pressures required it.
To test the viability of the concept, Sendik’s installed
digital screens in the break rooms at its stores. While they
liked digital signage
as an information
delivery medium,
they found the
particular brand they
had chosen did not
have the durability
required for the retail
environment.
performance of several brands, Doty and the management
team made its selection.
The Solution
Sendik’s chose the NEC V421, a 42”, 1080p HD screen
designed specifically for continuous duty in tough
environments. The V421 features a public display-grade
panel to protect against permanent image retention, an
input panel that allows connection to DVI through HDCP
along with HDMI, VGA, composite, S-Video and component
options and Ethernet and RS-232 jacks for remote
monitoring and management. To complete the package,
Sendik’s also elected to standardize on the NEC CMS for
creating and displaying the digital signage as well as its
direct interface to the VUKUNET Ad Serving Platform.
“Our stores are
open 14 hours every
day,” Doty said. “We
knew if we were
going to commit to
digital signs, we had
to have units that
could handle that
type of workload
year after year, and
that we needed a
manufacturer that
had a strong enough
service organization
to make repairs
quickly if a unit did
fail.”
With a plan to install
roughly 25 digital
signs in each of its
nine stores, Sendik’s
knew the company
was making a huge
investment. After
reviewing the specs,
reputation and in-use
“The NEC V421 really
delivers a lot of value
for the money,” Doty
said. “Although it’s
affordably priced,
the resolution and
color are outstanding.
It’s built like a tank,
too, and we are able
to use the built-in
scheduler to shut
them down when the
stores are closed to
save energy. We’ve
had the displays
in our stores for
more than a year,
and they’re working
flawlessly.”
Unlike many grocery
retailers that only put
up a couple of signs
near the checkout
stands and a handful
in other areas,
Sendik’s has made a
huge commitment to
its digital signage.
Upon first entering the door, throughout their shopping and finally on their way
out the door, Sendik’s shoppers are kept informed of in-store sales and services,
local events and other useful information.
“When you walk in
the store, you will see
two to four of them
immediately,” Doty
said. “One will usually
have a welcome
necdisplay.com
message, while the others provide information on sales and
specials. Each department has between one and four digital
signs as well, strategically placed to work with the flow of
traffic. If you follow the normal pattern within our stores,
you will view all of them.”
In most cases the signs call out sale pricing for items
within the department, focusing on the top items in the
department for weekly sales ads, just as the company
did with its printed signage. Sometimes, though, a sign in
one department will tease for the one to follow, such as
promoting cheese within the wine department.
“The NEC displays are so easy to control and change that
it gives us the opportunity to experiment with different
concepts to see what spikes sales,” Doty said. “If we have
an idea today, we can have it up in the store tomorrow.
We’re also using the signage to help us build the Sendik’s
they can create digital signage, and the creative freedom
it allows,” Doty said. “They really don’t like creating paper
posters anymore.”
Store labor costs for advertising sales have been reduced
to nearly nothing since the digital signage can be centrally
managed. But the program has always been about more
than saving money. Additional savings was achieved
thanks to the complimentary NEC CMS that delivers
fantastic performance.
“No one else in our area is doing anything like this,” Doty
said. “There is a real ‘wow’ factor. Our stores were already
very different than the typical generic supermarket, and
now the digital signage really makes them distinctive.”
Another advantage is the greater ability Sendik’s has to
communicate with its customers. One example Doty cites
NEC’s content management software has allowed Sendik’s to easily and quickly manage its screens.
brand, such as promoting our red, reusable bags and the
fact that we’re saving trees by going electronic. It seems like
each week, we discover new ways to take advantage of our
digital signage.”
By using the Web-based interface, changes can be made
to the presentation and quickly downloaded to the local
screen in fewer than five minutes, all without the need to
build a dedicated digital signage backbone.
“Our creative department really loves the ease with which
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is what happens when the company receives a price break
from one of its suppliers.
“Suppose our produce director gets a deal on strawberries
for three days,” he said. “The stores can advertise it
instantly and pass along the savings, helping shoppers
save money while spiking store sales. These days, retailers
have to be completely transparent with their customers
and communicate with them. Our NEC digital signs make it
easier for us to be transparent and be more responsible to
the shoppers we serve.”
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