The Demand For Digital Displays At Italian Auctions

The Demand For
Digital Displays At Italian Auctions

Italy is a country with a rich artistic atmosphere, and Borden, drawing upon its cultural heritage, has long operated an auction house primarily dealing in artworks, handling hundreds of transactions annually. However, in recent years, Borden has noticed a shift in clientele towards emerging auction houses, prompting him to seek a way to change his current model.

Through analysis, Borden identified the main pain points of auctions as real-time information updates and audience interaction. Traditional posters and verbal announcements were prone to misunderstandings, especially in multilingual environments. After weighing the pros and cons of various options, he chose to utilize digital signage to improve the auction house experience and contacted us at the end of 2024.

Following multiple discussions, we selected suitable digital signage equipment based on the venue's characteristics. The entire solution, from design to testing, took three months, with continuous adjustments to ensure stable operation even under heavy use. Finally, we conducted a full-process rehearsal before the official auction, simulating peak-hour scenarios to reassure the client. This collaboration provides a valuable reference for other traditional industries.

Benefits Of Using Digital Signage In Auction Houses

Synchronizing Information

The digital display equipment is connected to the auction's central management system, enabling real-time and seamless data flow.

Current auction item information, latest bids, and bidder numbers are updated instantly on the large screen, completely eliminating transaction disputes caused by information delays or human errors in the traditional model. This ensures a smooth, transparent, and fair auction process.
Better Promotion Of Auction Items

LCD screens allow for a clear view of the artwork's details, while dynamic images, text, and short videos replace static paper descriptions, breathing life into the items.

This immersive visual presentation greatly enhances the artwork's artistic appeal and effectively stimulates bidders' desire to collect.
More Flexible Bidding Modes

The digital signage system integrates on-site and remote bidding, with online bids displayed in real-time on the main screen. This breaks geographical limitations and greatly expands the pool of bidders.

This hybrid mode provides convenience for global collectors who cannot attend in person, creating a more open and inclusive bidding environment.

Digital Signage Equipment To Be Deployed

Digital Wall Display

In front of the auction hall, we used multiple screens to create a huge display screen. The 4K ultra-high resolution ensures the reproduction of details of the auction items, magnifying and displaying every detail of the artwork.

Touch Screen Information Kiosk

We set up multiple touchscreen display kiosks at the entrance and rest area of the venue, allowing bidders to easily check detailed information, current status, and preview location of all auction items without the need for staff assistance. This significantly reduced the repetitive workload of on-site staff during the consultation process.

Double-Sided Stretched Digital Signage

To optimize visitor flow at the venue, we deployed unique double-sided stretched digital signage at key intersections. Its striking ultra-thin design and dual-sided display ensured that guests from different directions could clearly see the auction schedule, functional area directions, and important notices, achieving both efficient and aesthetically pleasing information delivery.

Results Achieved

Previously, auction processes relied heavily on manual announcements, requiring auctioneers to repeatedly ask questions and submit bids for each item.

Information delays led to a poor experience for approximately 20% of participants. The introduction of digital signage reduced processing time to 10 minutes through real-time synchronization, improving overall efficiency by 30%.

The first auction after the digital display system was implemented yielded impressive results, with total sales reaching €2.85 million, a 23.5% increase compared to the same period last year.

Of these, the conversion rate for bidders using the self-service kiosks was 47.3%, compared to only 28.6% for those who did not use the devices.

More significantly, the digital display system reduced the unsold item rate from 12.4% in the same period last year to 3.8%, achieving the auction house's best performance in nearly five years.

Testimonials from Customers

These screens have made our auctions more modern, the audience response has been great, and the system runs extremely stably. The real-time bidding function allows participants on-site and online to be completely synchronized, making the whole process incredibly smooth.

Borden

Auction Manager