The Real Impact of Digital Signage (by Industry)
September 4, 2025There’s more to digital signage than just an interesting, eye-catching way to display information. Digital signage is proven to increase productivity, improve safety, drive sales and lead to increased information retention compared to static displays.
We’ll break down the positive impacts of digital signage by industry (education, healthcare, arenas and gathering spaces, manufacturing, and airports) and why it should be a staple feature within your facilities.
Education
For schools—K-12 and Higher Education—the biggest benefit of digital signage is its ability to enhance safety for students, faculty and staff. For that reason, they are becoming the norm for most educational institutions, with roughly 87% (K-12 through Higher Ed) having deployed digital signage.
Digital screens in hallways, cafeterias and gymnasiums make it possible for schools to push real-time safety messages to everyone at once. Administrators can immediately broadcast weather warnings, lockdown drills or “shelter-in-place” alerts on all displays. Research shows that safety messages on digital signs (i.e., displaying alerts, reminders, or evacuation maps on bright monitors) make critical information more noticeable and have been known to cut accident and illness rates by about 20%.
Safety benefits aside, digital signage can also lead to increased productivity in students. Technology, in an educational context, can help students reduce stress, improve confidence, enhance their efficiency, and feel more prepared for class.
Healthcare
Digital signage helps hospitals enforce safety rules and respond to crises faster. This means life-saving messages (fire alarms, active shooter alerts, pandemic directives, etc.) reach every nurse station, waiting room and corridor instantaneously.
Hospitals also use rotating displays to remind staff and visitors of infection-control measures. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many facilities posted mask, distancing and hand‑hygiene reminders on digital boards, allowing instant updates as guidelines changed. Digital signage acted as, to some extent, on-site public health officers broadcasting the latest PPE and sanitation protocols in real time.
From a productivity and patient care standpoint, especially for large hospitals, using digital signage for wayfinding makes it easier for staff and patients to get to the right place more quickly and efficiently, potentially saving lives in the process.
Digital Signage for Healthcare
Arenas and Venues
Whether attending a concert or a sporting event, fans today expect a high-tech spectacle. High‑def video scoreboards and jumbotrons deliver game replays, stats and interactive graphics, enriching the live experience. In fact, some 70% of fans say technology makes their game-day better, and 56% would attend more games if venues had more tech features.
There’s also a financial incentive for digital signage. In more modern gathering spaces where digital advertising screens are displayed, there is a greater propensity to ad recall. On average, ad recall rate for digital advertising is 80%, more than double that of traditional display advertising channels.
Digital Signage for Arenas and Gathering Spaces
Manufacturing
On the factory floor, digital signage reinforces safety protocols. Screens placed near machinery or at entry points can flash PPE reminders, hazard warnings or machine‑status alerts. Dynamic content grabs workers’ attention: studies suggest video messages on signs dramatically increase recall of safety procedures.
Digital signage in manufacturing settings can also motivate staff through visible metrics. Many factories display daily output goals and celebrate milestones (e.g., “X days without incident”) on LED signs. This transparency fosters accountability: when workers watch team performance climb on a live display, productivity rises. Though not a direct revenue driver, better output and fewer delays can translate into higher throughput.
Digital Signage for Manufacturing
Airports
Digital signage is ubiquitous in virtually every U.S. airport. Like in educational institutions, corporate offices, healthcare facilities and gathering spaces, digital signage at airports can improve safety and productivity. However, it may be one of the biggest advertising opportunities for brands.
According to a study by Neuro Insight and JCDecaux, airport advertising typically scores higher for memory encoding—the brain’s ability to convert visually perceived information into memory—than other forms of advertising. The brain is more likely to create memories when it wants to ensure no details are missed, which is often the case at airports. As a result, ad recall is much stronger at airports, especially in security areas and at arrival/departure gates.
Digital signage is more than flashing screens: it’s a means of enhancing safety, improving efficiency and increasing revenue. By providing up-to-the-minute information and advertising, digital displays help institutions work smarter and enrich the user experience. Whether in a classroom, factory floor, airport terminal or stadium, the evidence is clear: well‑deployed signage networks make operations more effective and people more informed and engaged.