Philips Professional Display Solutions, the market-leading digital display solutions provider, announced the release of a new state-of-the-art series of customer line management and people counting signage solutions.
As social distancing becomes an increasingly important way of life for people and businesses during the current climate, the need for tools to easily and efficiently monitor and manage foot traffic in public settings like grocery stores, retail stores and convenience stores, has become paramount to ensuring the safety of both customers and staff. In response, Philips Professional Display Solutions has worked with partners globally to create a solution that helps retailers follow government guidelines and control store traffic.
With health officials recommending social distancing of at least 6 feet, businesses – particularly those with high foot traffic – are being urged to implement strict measures around capacity and crowding to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Philips Professional Display Solutions is committed to providing customers with timely end-to-end solutions and seamless integrations. This new product uses the company’s strategic partnerships with global software and peripherals providers and its software powered by Android to deliver a new digital signage solution that is both cost effective and easy to install. Designed to fit settings with one or several points of entry, the solutions will provide store employees and customers with visibility into the number of people entering and exiting a building, as well as introducing effective and efficient line management systems, informing and engaging customers at the same time.
The solution is currently being tested among Philips Professional Display Solutions’ customers across Europe. Kersten Retail Techniek, one of the Benelux region’s largest retail installers that supports some of the world’s leading brands, such as H&M and Footlocker, is in the process of introducing the solution across stores. Conversations with a number of other leading organizations are also taking place in the UK and Europe.
“Philips Professional Display Solutions has responded immediately to these new retail challenges bringing a complete solution to market that simply didn’t exist before,” said Ronald Kuypers, Kersten Retail CEO. “Even during this lockdown, people still need to visit stores, so it’s crucial we ensure they feel safe and comfortable in doing so.”
“North America and the rest of the world are in the midst of unprecedented circumstances. COVID-19 has caused us to think twice about engaging in ‘normal’ activities like going into work or going to the grocery store so we can protect the population’s health and reduce the burden on our frontline workers,” said Joseph King, Senior Director of Philips Professional Display Solutions, North America. “As we navigate this ‘new normal’ of social distancing and decreased personnel and customers in stores, the collaboration between digital signage and technology has never been more important.”
The new displays, which can be used across industries such as retail, corporate, hospitality, education and healthcare, provide benefits for both the current climate and the future. They can be programmed to provide customers and staff with clear information around store capacity, alerting customers to whether it’s safe to enter the store by installing cameras at building entrances. These cameras will feed information on expected wait times, as well as engaging, promotional messaging onto the displays. Additional features include:
- Ability to broadcast updates using audio and a traffic light system (red, yellow and green), ensuring complete inclusivity
- Integration with automatic doors, enabling them to open and close based on capacity – potentially freeing up staff from managing lines
- Access to the flexible and secure Android SoC, which enables partners and developers to add and integrate their own API/software features, bringing more choice and benefits to customers quickly and efficiently
- Utilization of Philips Professional Display Solutions’ exclusive control and management software, CMND, which allows for single and multiple displays to easily create and share information and provide customers with complete control locally and remotely
“Helping our customers is and has always been our top priority, but this is even more important due to the current environment. It is because of that mission and through our partnerships with some of the world’s top organizations that we have been able to bring a solution to market within weeks that was not originally in our pipeline,” King said. “Further, these displays can be utilized across a variety of industries and essential businesses and partners have the ability to easily integrate their solutions thanks to our use of the Android operating system.”
Partners and customers across North America are currently testing these solutions. To learn more about this new solution or other ways Philips Professional Display Solutions is helping customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit https://www.philips.co.uk/p-m-pr/professional-displays/people-count?nocache=1 or the Philips Professional Displays USA LinkedIn page.
