OOH During The 2026 World Cup, Conflicting Stats, and more!

Here we are yet again, at the beginning of another year. Just like that, the first month of 2026 is over, and we have a clearer view of the last quarter and year preceding it. There have been interesting stats in the field of digital display technology. While it grew as a whole, key segments experienced a drop. Plus, we ran into intriguing tech news involving flying digital billboards, as well as in-depth data on in-store digital signage.  

Pro display shipments dipped in Q4 2025

Global shipments of large-area displays were up by 2.9% year-on-year in 2025, but the segment including most digital signage and commercial OOH screens declined at the end of the year. The fourth quarter of 2025 brought in a 7.2% decline in public information display (PID) shipments.

The lift to the total large-area display volume for 2025 was aided by consumer TV and other professional display categories. Meanwhile the PID segment appears to have encountered a lower demand in areas such as retail, transportation, and hospitality towards the end of the year. Analysts attribute this drop to project delays and tighter spending. Longer replacement cycles are another factor, as operators opted for extending the life span of existing installations rather than getting new ones.

In other stat-related news, the Australian Out-of-Home industry saw a rise of 11.43% in 2025. Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) accounted for 76.6% of total net revenue. This is up from 74.9% in 2024.

Flying digital billboards!

Advertising in the sky is not a new concept. Think branded hot air balloons or banner towing. But how do you feel about flying digital billboards? The aviation media startup Heli-D is relying on helicopter power to fly LED panels into the sky and reach large audiences. These 400-square-foot airborne displays can stream content like any other digital billboard, ideal for event coverage and brand content. 

In a recent post by Digital Signage Today, the company Co-Founder Simon Powell answered various intriguing questions surrounding this business. He talked about what it was that prompted the move to start a flying LED billboard company, as well as pointed out the benefits of aerial advertising over conventional approaches. He also highlighted challenges to this business model. For instance, extreme weather and major storms prove a challenge.

It’s an interesting idea to think about, and the fact that big companies like Netflix and Microsoft have chosen to partner with the company indicates the potential and interest of this type of advertising.

OOH and the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico this summer. During such a global event, Out-of-Home is going to be thrust into the spotlight. We can expect a surge in digital billboard ads, particularly in areas overflowing with fan audiences.

AI unlocks additional potential, as it can be used to analyze real-time information and local traffic patterns or weather conditions, and help in identifying the best locations and times for campaigns.

It’s still too early to tell what’s precisely going to happen, but we can expect unique approaches to advertising during this time, intended to catch the eyes of fans. In the past, we’ve already seen the use of 3D digital billboards for this purpose or creative immersion efforts by Starbucks releasing coffee aromas during morning rush hours. With that in mind, we’ll surely see some unique uses of advertising assets, including digital signage. 2026 is going to be exciting!

Does in-store digital signage work?

According to a four-year study, spanning 237 campaigns, multiple stores, and over 30 million customer receipts, the answer to this question is yes!

When it comes to in-store media, finding causality is not an easy thing. The study relied on randomized real-world A/B testing to determine results. Shoppers were given loyalty cards with proximity chips which randomly assigned them to either see a digital signage ad or not. At checkout, purchases were matched to data on exposure to advertising, granting a clean measurement that shoppers purchased something directly because of seeing a digital sign.

The results provided a baseline increase of an 8.1% lift in sales across all campaigns and conditions. This percentage is consistent with prior studies, even if this study was far more intricate.

The growth indicator is meaningful, but more important is the data that confirmed that not all products benefit equally from advertising. New products, or products that were tied to an emotional response, performed significantly better over utilitarian products. Overall a really interesting study, well worth a read.

Break up your content!

Your carefully constructed content can benefit from an occasional break in the content flow to let the viewer breathe. A great way to achieve this break is to use simple apps, logos, or social media banners. They provide a sense of information that is not always intended to sell or convince the viewer to do something. Apart from that, it makes the whole thing look like a professional setup.

Another useful post we covered this month on the OnSign blog are tips on starting your 2026 strong. We outlined a few guidelines, particularly important if you’re an OnSign user. For example, review and update your templates, freshen up your content libraries, prepare for upcoming events by scheduling content you can predict, and more!