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MTA pilots digital signage shopping on Amazon in NYC subways

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, New York City MTA's "On the Go" digital signage information kiosks will showcase transactional Amazon.com ads to subway riders

November 26, 2014

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, New York City MTA's "On the Go" digital signage information kiosks will showcase transactional Amazon.com ads to subway riders, according to an announcement from Control Group, which built the kiosks.

The move creates the first network of digital out-of-home storefronts in the busiest transit system in the Americas, according to the announcement.

More than 90 digital kiosks will greet commuters with curated products from Amazon's Consumer Electronics Holiday Gift Guide, showcasing select products to 1.2 million riders per day.

Users can browse the latest in gaming, wearables, headphones and cameras and push a selected product to their phone to complete the purchase — all while waiting for their train.

"This new platform was born out of a belief that the future of advertising should be aligned, targeted, helpful and, more importantly, transactional, creating an urban retail experience," said Damian Gutierrez, associate partner at Control Group, in the announcement. "This is the evolution of the pop-up store where customers can make a purchase whenever and wherever they want."

Launched in February 2014, the On the Go kiosks were built by Control Group as part of a public-private partnership with the New York City MTA.

Designed to deliver the most relevant information to the greatest number of people, Control Group's kiosks provide countdown to arrival, one-touch visual directions based on real-time train status, neighborhood maps and dynamic advertising opportunities.

In addition to traditional DOOH advertising, Control Group said it has lined up programmatic, TV/video and transactional advertising, which will be piloted during the Amazon Holiday campaign.