News

College bookstore sales jump 240 percent with digital signs

May 28, 2007

ROANOKE, Va. — Sales of products advertised on the IntelliMat, a digital floor display, dramatically increased at two Virginia Tech bookstores earlier this year, according to Don Williams, executive director of Virginia Tech Services Inc.

Sales of various Virginia Tech logo apparel were tracked during a five-week period in January and February at the University and Volume Two Bookstores. When compared to sales during the same period in 2006, individual product sales increases ranged from 6 percent to 240 percent. In addition, sales of the Beamer Ball race car were 145 percent greater when displayed adjacent to the mat.

"We are extremely pleased with the IntelliMat's ability to engage customers and increase sales," Williams said. "These results are evidence the IntelliMat is a highly effective communication and sales tool."

The IntelliMats made their debut in bookstores in the fall of 2006 as part of a pilot program to test consumer attraction to the mats and sales increases at points of purchase, according to Scott Templeton, senior vice president of business development for LevelVision, the manufacturer of the IntelliMat. Both bookstores also experienced sales increases in the fall, he added.