Retail Fluent, a leading retail construction, design and decor firm based in Little Falls, New Jersey, has built its reputation on forward-thinking stores. The company has spent the past year expanding its retail media network and service platform.
Kevin Ruddy, VP of retail group of Retail Fluent, said the company’s RMN features a complete turnkey service platform. It includes installation and maintenance of modern, ultra-bright LED screens; placement of screens in retailers’ front windows and other high-traffic locations; and integrated ad and content management system.
In addition, there is a programmatic DSP platform for digital out-of-home and it is geopathic certified for audience measurement and location.
“Retail media networks represent one of the best, most cost-effective advertising options for today’s leading consumer packaged goods companies, reaching and influencing buyers at the right time and place of purchasing intent,” Ruddy said.
The company’s digital signage can be found throughout the Northeast. “We’re already in 500 locations with almost 2,000 signs. By next year, we will be tripling that,” Ruddy said.
He went on to note that the ROI of digital signage far outweighs the physical counterparts. The longevity alone is the most appealing aspect, according to Ruddy.
“The digital sign is placed permanently in the window and also [retailers] can run multiple signs. So it doesn’t matter what you need, you’ll always have a sign,” he said.
Another benefit is the digital signs’ adaptability.
“For example, if you had a sign for strawberries and you didn’t get your strawberries in, you can immediately delete that and then replace it with a new one.”
The basic size is a 55-inch screen and contains 5,000 nits, the unit of measurement for light intensity. For reference, a typical 55-inch TV boasts about 850-1,000 nits, while typical commercial signs have upward of 1,200, according to Ruddy.
The signs offer support for static images, animations and full-motion videos. According to statistics from Retail Fluent, digital signage has led to an increase of up to 14 percent in sales.
The company is split into three divisions: Retail Fluent’s media network division, store design and construction and GreenCrown.
GreenCrown is recognized as the nation’s premier and reliable advisory firm in the energy and water sector, specializing in supply and conservation measures.
It works alongside the design division to give retailers streamlined energy procurement, EV charging solutions, reduced emissions and energy and water conservation technologies.
Ruddy said the offerings provide retailers with savings while helping the environment, but also can lead to a better product for consumers.
“We work with companies that have more efficient equipment – refrigeration and things like that,” he said. “We can go in, and we can change the lighting of old equipment, too. On our water side, we have equipment to purify water to make your seafood, meat, produce last longer because we sanitize everything.”
As for sanitization, Ruddy said mist machines in produce departments can be full of bacteria. Through GreenCrown’s sanitization equipment, that bacteria is eliminated.
“When we sterilize the water, it will make the produce last longer – the same thing with seafood. If you’re making ice from tap water, there is bacteria in there,” he said.
For retailers considering building new stores or remodeling older ones, Ruddy said store layouts haven’t changed much in recent years. Fresh continues to be the focal point of any store. However, making a store “more inviting” is a rising trend in store layouts.
“When you see our cases, they’re not normal cases,” he said. “We make it a more inviting environment – lower ceilings with wooden beams, floors polished and then the digital assets of the inner stores with digital signage throughout the stores. Also, signage that gives you everything from information on where the product is grown, to what the product cost to recipes to promotions.”
Read more grocery store layout news from The Shelby Report.
