PPDS has teamed up popular Sweden supermarket chain, Maxi ICA, to bring an engaging and more inspired shopping experience to customers in its flagship store with the installation of 27 digital signage displays and a 16-meter-wide (52ft) direct-view LED video wall.

Located in Örebro — a city sandwiched between Stockholm and Gotenburg— the Maxi ICA Stormarknad Universitetet store is one of the city’s most popular, go-to retail destinations, offering a range of more than 38,000 stock items, (including household utensils, gardening equipment, clothes, books, toys, media/entertainment, health and beauty, plus pharmaceuticals, under a single roof. A video of the installation is available here.

Opened in 2015 and part of the ICA Group – 1,300 stores, 8,000 staff and a market share of 36 percent – the owners wanted to create a more modern, engaging and inspiring in-store environment for their customers, while bringing new benefits to the store’s day-to-day operations, and to drive new and existing revenue opportunities. Part of a major digital upgrade initiative, key to its plans was the replacement of its traditional static and quickly outdated paper-based messaging (branding, marketing, and promotions) with a digital alternative, for maximum visibility and consistency, and less waste.

Working closely with PPDS and LTG Display – Sweden’s leading supplier of signage software, digital signage and store communications for more than 3,000 retailers – a strategic plan was developed to evolve the store from traditional media to the digital world.

Completed in just a few days, nearly all printed signage was replaced with Philips D-Line digital displays (75”-86”), allowing the store to bring its branding and messaging content to life in a way never seen before in store, with creativity, only restricted by their imaginations, delivered in up to 4K picture quality. Linked seamlessly to LTG Display’s sophisticated POS system, the store is now able to update content instantly and entirely remotely, on an individual screen or collectively.

In addition, the installation of Philips digital signage removes concerns around outdated promotions being displayed, ensures staff are able to focus on their job rather than on changing posters on a daily basis, and eliminates unnecessary paper waste.

A colossal centrepiece

The centrepiece of the store, undoubtedly, is the colossal 16 x 1.73 metre Philips L-Line 7000 Series direct view LED wall.

Hailed as Scandinavia’s longest supermarket dvLED display, this unmissable installation is visible from anywhere in the store, providing opportunities to wow visitors on entering, while also creating an immersive experience that follows throughout their store journey.

The one-of-a-kind LED wall is strategically situated above an equally giant-sized pick ‘n’ mix selection, located towards the end of the customer’s journey, regularly displaying enticing – and often mouth-watering – content to grab a few extra sales (and treats) before exiting the building.

Designed for retail, the Philips 7000 Series provides the store with high bright, crystal clear image and colour quality, bringing its marketing to life, while its low energy consumption – above 20pc lower compared to some competitors – helps Maxi ICA keep running costs to a minimum without impacting performance. All the Philips displays feature the benefits of Dynamic and Black screen power saving features, automatically and intelligently powering down when not in use. This helps to further reduce the total cost of ownership, while extending the life of each dvLED panel for a greater RoI. FailOver also ensures Philips displays never go blank, even in the event of an outage.

Speaking of the installation Roeland Scholten, Sales Director for Benelux and Nordics at PPDS, said: “The result of this collaboration set a new benchmark in the shopping experience with clear and seamless customer navigation and endless opportunities in content creation related to each department. We’re delighted to have supported Maxi ICA in bringing their ambitions to life in this unique, forward-thinking store, where the customer experience really does come first.”

Erik Svedmark, Store Manager at Maxi ICA Stormarknad Universitetet, added: “Our goal is to be the number one choice for a customer when it comes to purchasing food, which means that we have to provide them with a different experience.”