Decathlon, the famous sports retailer, grows in technology, market and communication techniques.

Decathlon, the ever-expanding and well-known sports retailer is opening stores rapidly. With more than 1500 stores worldwide offering sports equipment for 86 different sports the need for flexible digital communication is evident.

Digital signage challenges at Decathlon

With new concepts coming to the stores like try and buy, go try, cashless checkout and RFID, they are bringing sports to the people. Being a technology-driven retailer also introduces new challenges. For example, how do you communicate with your customers about the new concepts that are available.

Customers at Decathlon, for example, can leave the store without going to the cash register first. Scan and go makes it possible to scan the products you are buying in your Decathlon app and pay them directly using your mobile phone.

In cooperation with ZetaDisplay, Decathlon reviewed its current digital communication strategy and defined areas to improve. While keeping in mind the strong brand image and high customer expectation multiple features and possibilities were added to their in-store communication portfolio.

As digital signage is so much more than an image or video on a screen, the biggest challenge for Decathlon was getting to get the right content, to the right people at the right time.

ZetaDisplay solution

In every Decathlon store, multiple display positions are defined. For all those positions, different types of digital communication are implemented to inform, nudge or help the customer on his or her journey through the store. Certain positions are tailored to the Decathlon offering and informing the customer of the options. A good example is the customer service area where Decathlon offers a very wide range of services for sports equipment that customers often don’t know about.

Another important part of the solution is the link to the Decathlon national marketing campaigns based on the brand Decathlon but it also gives local stores the possibility to promote local or regional sports events. This so-called “content layering” of centralized content but with local access is integrated into the ZetaDisplay solution.

A major challenge for Decathlon was the connection with their product database. They wanted to be able to promote products and sports that the store has on stock and are connected to the season or national marketing campaign. If the store is out of stock, those products will not be shown on the screens. On top of that, the local store manager can add products manually, to promote products which have a high stock level. The ZetaDisplay solution utilizes even the local weather forecast to combine all elements, so only relevant products are shown throughout relevant places in the store.

Decathlon is opening inner-city stores, smaller stores in the downtown areas of larger cities. This new approach brings new, local communication challenges were potential customers need to be pulled into the store through shop window(s) communication. The uses of high brightness shop window displays adds new options to the Decathlon digital communication portfolio.

ZetaDisplay is currently rolling out this high-end signage system throughout the existing Decathlon stores in The Netherlands and implementing it also in upcoming new stores. Decathlon plans to increase the number of stores in the Netherlands to 30 stores in total by the end of 2020.