Retail: the screen at the entrance needs a pecking order

An entrance screen gets the shortest attention of the whole shop. People coming in look while walking, with their eyes on the door, the trolley or the phone. What runs there has to be understandable in a few seconds. That holds for a single shop, and even more so for branch networks, where every screen has the same ambition.

A pecking order in three steps

A simple order has proved its worth in retail. It is an editorial recommendation, not a standard.

1. What applies today? The one promotion, the one offer, a note on changed opening hours. One image, one sentence, one price.
2. Where do I find it? Signposts to departments, the till, toilets, the collection point. Especially important in larger shops.
3. What else does the house offer? Services such as repairs, vouchers or a loyalty card. For waiting time and queues.

If all three run, the first should be seen most often and longest, the third least.

Two rules on price

As soon as a screen shows prices, price law applies, even if it is "only advertising". The German Price Indication Ordinance names two provisions that matter for screens in shops:

• Anyone advertising with prices must state the total prices to consumers (section 3(1)), that is, prices including VAT and other components.
• Anyone offering goods on screens must price them by stating the prices directly next to the images or descriptions (section 10(4)). The same applies in essence to goods visibly offered in shop windows or on shelves (section 10(1)).

In practice this means: no photo without a price if the item is on offer, and no "from 9.99" that turns into a different amount in the small print. This article is not legal advice.

What is decided in the branch and what is not

Branch networks regularly meet the same tension. Head office wants a uniform look. The branch knows what is on the shelf right now. A solution that works in practice:

• Head office sets layout, type, colours and sequence.
• The branch may enter only the text, price and photo of the offer.
• A second person proofreads before the screen changes.

Without this split you get either rigid uniformity that misses the branch, or a patchwork that head office can no longer see through.

Five mistakes at the entrance

• Too much content. Five promotions on one image are not a promotion.
• Type too small. The price should be readable from three metres.
• Silent videos with subtitles nobody reads. If video, then with a clear picture.
• Expired promotions. Nothing damages trust more than a price that does not apply at the till.
• Changes timed with the door. If the content changes just as someone glances in, they read only half of it.

A test every branch can run

Stand one step inside the door and count to five. Do you then know what applies today? If not, the image is too full.