Did you know that implementing digital menus can increase the sales of your restaurant or cafes by nearly 23%?
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One reason for this is that 30% of customers avoid going to restaurants because the menus are “too hard to read”!
So, whether you’re losing customer traffic or want to attract more patrons, LED menu boards might be exactly what you need to transform the customer end of your dining experience!
They offer your restaurant a modern look & feel while clearly communicating your menu options to your customers.
In this blog, I’m going to walk you through everything you need to know about LED menu boards so that you can start implementing them at your establishment!
Let’s dive in.
LED Menu Boards for Restaurants & Cafes: Table of Contents
- Why LED Menu Boards Matter: Market Context & Stats
- Key Advantages of LED Menu Boards for Restaurants
- How to Design an LED Menu Board for Your Restaurant
- Transform Your Dining Experience with Elegant Lightings
- LED Menu Boards for Restaurants & Cafes: FAQs
Why LED Menu Boards Matter: Market Context & Stats
First, let’s quickly go through some statistics and the latest trends that show the rising graph of digital signage for restaurants:
- The digital menu board market is expected to reach $21.1 billion by 2025.
- 74% of customers report that digital signage influences their purchase decisions.
- Perceived wait times can go down by as much as 38% with digital signage.
- LED signage leads to a 55% higher ad recall rate.
- Your LED signage will pay you back within 10-18 months of installation.
As you can see, digital signage can help you increase sales, order accuracy, brand recall, and even return on advertising investment!
Key Advantages of LED Menu Boards for Restaurants and Cafes
Let’s briefly go through the benefits that you can expect from LED signage for your restaurant or cafe.
1. Increased Sales and Average Order Value
8 out of 10 customers reported making unexpected purchases after coming across digital promotions for them.
Think of it this way: if your patron is having to squint at a menu with a tiny and confusing font, finding what they want and then placing the order will itself cause them decision fatigue.
Instead, suppose they have clear access to a bright LED signage designed specifically for your restaurant. In that case, they’ll easily be able to spot the specials, connect them to your brand logo, and place their order without any hassle.
That’s why most restaurants experience an increase in order values right after they implement digital signage for restaurants!
2. Enhanced Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings
Digital signage can also greatly increase the efficiency of your dining operations – at least in the marketing side of things.
That’s because you never have to print banners or large menu boards for in-store or kerbside menu boards or ads.
All you have to do is get an LED signage and update it whenever you want from wherever you are!
Plus, digital signs are especially useful if you’ve got more than one establishment – you can update their content remotely, and even experiment with different ads to see which ones perform better!
One of the key benefits of digital menus is that you can integrate them with Point-of-Sale software to automatically update your menu based on existing inventory.
So, as soon as you’re out of the day’s specials, it’ll update this info on the menu board – saving your customers the disappointment of walking up to the counter or placing an order only to find out their favourite dish is out of stock!
Pro Tip: If you’re not sure whether LED menu boards will actually help you get more business, get a rental LED display to see if it increases your sales or average order value. If it works, keep it – if it doesn’t, just send it back!
3. Improved Customer Experience
Customers find it much easier to visualize a dish when they can actually see an image of it. While physical or printed menus can also do this, they’re more limiting and can lose their shiny appeal over time due to wear and tear.
Plus, digital menus give you the freedom and flexibility to quickly act on customer feedback, which means you can include clearer pictures, more items, and more information on your menu boards without having to print a single extra menu!
4. Sustainability Benefits
One of the most important reasons why the trend of digital signage for restaurants is on an upward trajectory is that LED signs have themselves become much more powerful and energy-efficient.
They consume way less power than older LED or LCD tech, while offering better display experiences with vibrant visuals.
So, when you pivot to LED menu boards for your restaurant, you don’t just improve your brand image; you also enjoy lower electricity bills and attract the business of environmentally conscious patrons.
5. Brand Consistency + Marketing Flexibility
The thing that my clients love most about digital signage for restaurants is that they can change the messaging at the click of a button.
This makes it extremely easy for them to change the ads during festivals, display offers for limited-period items, and test different menus to see which ones attract the most customers.
One of the most significant benefits of LED menu boards is the ability to run real-time promotions at no additional cost.
How to Design an LED Menu Board for Your Restaurant
If you’re thinking about designing an LED menu board for your restaurant, I suggest looking at four main considerations:
- Positioning: Group different menu items into logical sections just as you would for physical menus. So, club appetizers, beverages, mains, and mains in different sections.
- Strategic Highlighting: Use your LED signage to strategically highlight high-margin items through size and placement. Consider showing more pictures for those items, position them as best-sellers, or reserve a part of your signage to show a carousel of your best or most-in-demand dishes.
- Design: Consider using a minimalist design for improved readability – this is what my clients have told me works the best in their dining establishments. Customers prefer clean, clear signs that they can read rather than those that display imagery that’s too bright or loud.
- Color: I highly suggest using a consistent color story for your brand. This will help you increase brand recall and maintain a uniform message, especially if you’re planning to use more than one signage or have more than one establishment.
Implementing LED menu boards thus includes three main steps: deciding which LED signage you want, designing the menu, and maintaining your digital infrastructure through a content management system.
Transform Your Dining Experience with Elegant Lightings!
Through this blog, I’ve walked you through the most important benefits of using LED signage for your restaurant or cafe.
We’ve seen how and why LED menu boards can help you increase footfall, effectively advertise your best-selling dishes, and even decrease the cost of advertising for your establishment.
Now, all that’s left for you to do is take the first step towards implementing digital LED menu boards for your restaurant.
That’s where we at Elegant Lightings come in!
We offer a wide range of indoor and outdoor LED screens and rentals for restaurants and cafes. In fact, we’ve worked with a wide range of industries, including the F&B sector, across the United States to create highly elegant lighting experiences that illuminate businesses and dazzle customers.
We can also help you engineer custom solutions that align with your vision, location, and brand voice so that you can make the most of your LED menu boards.
So, reach out to us, tell us about your restaurant or cafe, and let us help you design an LED menu board and transform your customer experience!
LED Menu Boards for Restaurants & Cafes: FAQs
1. What are the benefits of LED menu boards for restaurants?
Digital LED menu boards boost your sales by highlighting specials, cut printing costs, and easily update from anywhere. You’ll also improve the customer experience with vibrant, easy-to-read menus.
2. How much do digital menu boards cost?
While the cost of designing, installing, and maintaining digital menu boards vary, you can get a full return on your investment within as little as 10-18 months thanks to increased sales and the money you save on constantly printing new menus!
3. Can I rent an LED menu board?
Absolutely – we offer both long-term and short rentals to help you either assess whether it’s useful for your business or treat it as a variable expenditure on your balance sheet. Check out our range of LED rentals on our website!
4. Are they good for outdoor drive-thrus?
Absolutely. We offer high-brightness outdoor-rated displays designed to be perfectly visible in direct sunlight, making them ideal for your drive-thru lane, kerbside menus, or main signboards.
5. What content works best on them?
I suggest using high-quality photos of your dishes paired with a clean, simple layout. You should also strategically highlight your best sellers and daily specials to gently guide customer choices and increase average order values.
