In today's fast-paced and highly competitive marketplace, staying visible is not just an option—it's necessary for every business. With consumer attention spans shrinking and the digital landscape constantly evolving, companies that fail to market themselves risk being completely overlooked. For small and local businesses in particular—often operating with limited budgets and resources—the challenge lies in finding marketing solutions that are not only cost-effective but also impactful. This is where digital signage emerges as an innovative, modern solution.
Digital signage for small businesses provides an affordable and flexible way to engage customers directly at the point of sale. These systems typically consist of compact digital monitors placed strategically in high-traffic areas within a store, such as near entrances, checkout counters, or product displays. They allow the store to showcase a wide range of content—from promotions and product highlights to third-party advertisements—designed to grab attention, influence purchasing decisions, and ultimately boost sales.
As marketing trends shift toward immersive, real-time, and data-driven strategies, digital signage allows small business owners to keep pace with larger competitors, without the need for large financial investments or complicated infrastructure. This blend of affordability, visibility, and customer engagement makes it one of the most promising tools in the 2025 marketing toolkit for small retail environments.
Increase interaction between businesses and customers, and provide adequate side income for local businesses
These small digital monitors directly increase the interaction between you and your customers; research has shown that 63% of consumers believe that digital signage attracts their attention more than traditional advertising, thus helping to improve customer engagement.
Side income for small and local businesses
Installing digital billboards in stores allows local businesses to earn side income by renting out part of their space to this monitor, thus supporting small and local businesses. In a report published by Digital Signage Today, the use of digital billboards can increase point-of-sale sales by up to 33%.
So, if stores rent just one of the monitors monthly at a base price, they can cover a significant portion of their rental or energy costs; for example, in the United States, the monthly rental price for digital space in stores -depending on the location of the store, the location of the monitor and the traffic of the population- varies between $50 and $300 per month.
Low installation and commissioning costs and workforce
These digital billboards are installed and commissioned with minimal costs, so having advertisements on these monitors is very cost-effective. By comparing the prices of these signs, it is easy to see that these digital billboards, due to the cheap hardware such as LED monitors or e-paper screens that are available on the market for less than $100, bring little marketing burden to the company. At the same time, businesses can use cloud content management systems to provide advertising content on it, which monitors performance and improves the advertising company's financial balance. For example, cloud platforms such as Relatop provides remote advertising content management for small stores without the need for the staggering costs of marketing experts!
Content customization for specific hours or days
With this marketing method, stores can change advertising messages according to the time of customer presence in the store (for example, peak shopping hours) or special days and occasions such as Christmas or Easter, using cloud CMS such as Relatop. According to the Intel Digital Signage White Paper, time-sensitive content can increase business conversion rates by up to 32%.
Reduce print advertising costs and help protect the environment
Another report in Digital Signage states that these digital advertising signs can reduce the cost of print advertising, which is a traditional marketing method, by up to 80%, which, while helping businesses save money, can be an effective factor in protecting the environment and green marketing. For example, according to the Environmental Paper Network report, printing advertising banners consumes thousands of tons of paper and PVC plastic, which digital signs eliminate.
On the other hand, according to SEO analysis, searches for "affordable digital signage for small businesses 2025" on Google are constantly increasing. More than 50% of search traffic belongs to long-tail keywords in this area.
The Psychological and Visual Impact of Digital Signage on Customer Behavior
Psychological research has repeatedly proven that moving images and digital messages attract the brain's attention much faster than traditional advertising and remain in people's memory better. For example, according to a study at the University of Cincinnati, digital signs increase brand recall by up to 47%.
Local Advertising Potential for Other Brands
Small businesses indeed have less competitive financial power than large companies, but due to the presence and direct support of local customers, these digital advertising signs can become a valuable source of advertising for larger businesses or other local businesses. According to a study by the Statista website on local advertising trends, more than 45% of local brands are looking for advertising channels at the point of purchase of local customers. Scalability and growth with technology without heavy costs Due to the low installation and setup cost and the effective economic benefit of these digital advertising signs, Small, local stores can start advertising with a small monitor and then gradually expand it to a network of larger signs. A good reason for this gradual investment is a report by Grand View Research, which states that the global digital signage market will reach more than $45 billion by 2030.
Conclusion
In today's digital world, where cost-efficiency, innovation, and adaptability play a central role in the survival and growth of small and local businesses, the implementation of digital signage within local retail environments is not just a trend but a strategic necessity. By combining affordability with dynamic content delivery and the ability to update messages in real time easily, digital displays offer small businesses a competitive edge that aligns perfectly with modern consumer expectations. As we move into 2025, embracing digital signage represents a forward-thinking investment that enhances customer engagement, supports business sustainability, and ensures that even the smallest shops can thrive in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Relatop Research Team
Published on 12 May 2025