Outdoor Digital Signage

How businesses use outdoor digital signage

Outdoor screens are most useful where lots of people walk past regularly or wait in a queue. This makes them suitable for a range of business types.

Shopfront and entrance screens

A wall-mounted screen at your entrance can promote daily offers or opening hours to people walking past. Switch from a lunchtime deal to an evening promotion without printing new posters. Because shop fronts usually face the street in full daylight, this is where brightness levels matter most.

Choose a model with a weatherproof enclosure and a high-brightness panel, as indoor screens will struggle to stay readable.

Drive-thru and outdoor menu boards

Show your menu and prices along with allergen notes in your drive-thru lane, or beside a takeaway hatch. When items sell out, or information needs to be changed, update every board from your content management software instead of reprinting signs. Consider the size of the board along with brightness, because drivers need to be able to read them from a few metres away.

Hospitality venues and events

Putting a freestanding screen at the entrance of a hotel or your beer garden easily helps promote events or sports times. Content can be scheduled to change on its own, so morning notices switch to evening promotion at set times. You might need to check for a power supply and network connection for this option.

Site maps and visitor information

On a business park or campus, outdoor screens help visitors figure out where they are and find where they need to go on their own. If a route closes or a business moves out, you just change the map. Toughened, impact-resistant glass and no exposed buttons are your main considerations here as your screen faces heavy use.

Choosing outdoor digital signage for your site

With outdoor screens, we recommend you match the specification to your location instead of just looking for the brightest model. Here are a few things to consider.

Brightness for direct sunlight

Screen brightness is measured in nits, most indoor screens run at a few hundred, which isn’t enough for outdoor use and is why indoor screens look washed out in daylight. Outdoor displays are designed to be much brighter (between 1,500 and 7,000 nits) so have better visibility in direct sunlight. Many also have a light sensor that dims the panel once it’s dark to reduce power use.

Weather, temperature and damage

IP ratings show how good a screen is at keeping dust and water out. IP65 rating means the enclosure is protected against water jets and locks out dust. Outdoor displays also use cooling systems so they can run in hot weather, so check temperature ratings for your site. IK rating shows the screen’s resistance to impact, IK10 is the highest grade.

Power, network and planning

Check you have a power supply near where the screen will go if it needs a permanent power supply. You also need to think about whether content will be installed on the screen using a USB or remotely over a network connection.
Advertising consent may also be needed for illuminated screens, so check with your local authority.

Buying refurbished outdoor digital signage with confidence

Our in-house technicians test every refurbished screen before it’s shipped and give a grade based on its cosmetic condition.

Grade A screens show little or no sign of use.

Grade B screens may have light marks that don’t affect the picture.

You can read the full criteria on our grading specifications page.

Our refurbished outdoor stock changes often, so if you need several matching screens for your site, call us before ordering and we can check how many of the model and grade we can supply.

Need help choosing?

Tell us where the screen will go and which way it’ll face. We can recommend suitable outdoor displays and help you compare new and refurbished screen prices based on your budget. Call 01462 337033 or email sales@gradeatechnology.co.uk