Global shipments of connected digital signage displays grew by 16.7% to 17.2 million units in 2019. 

 

According to a new research report from Berg Insight, market growth is driven by greater demand for digital signage solutions in all market verticals, technological advancements and a continued decline in prices. Shipments to the EU28+2 countries totalled an estimated 3.9 million units, whereas shipments to North America reached 4.8 million units. 

 

The Rest of World market accounted for the remaining 8.5 million units. Berg Insight forecasts that global shipments of connected digital signs will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8% in the next five years to reach 32.8 million units by 2024. As a result, the number of connected digital signage displays in active use worldwide will grow at a CAGR of 15.2% from an estimated 63.8 million units in 2019 to 129.4 million units in 2024.

 

The digital signage industry is highly fragmented with a large number of companies active in the marketplace. As for other fragmented markets, consolidation is increasingly taking place among the industry vendors as the market matures. 

 

“The digital signage space has seen a large number of M&As over the past years involving various companies active in this industry”, said Rickard Andersson, Principal Analyst, Berg Insight. He adds that one of most significant deals on the digital signage market is STRATACACHE’s acquisition of Scala in 2016. The deal cemented STRATACACHE’s position as a key player with a broad global footprint and total revenues which are now approaching the billion-dollar range. 

 

STRATACACHE has over the years performed numerous acquisitions in the digital signage space and related fields, including Premier Retail Networks (PRN), Vertigo Digital Displays, Real Digital Media, LIFT Network, Walkbase, iDKLIC, X2O Media, Sys-Teams and POPSCREENS (now called Scala China).

 

“One of the most eye-catching deals in 2020 so far is further the agreement between NEC and Sharp to create a joint venture by combining NEC Display Solutions with Sharp”, continued Mr. Andersson. Under the terms of the transaction, NEC will transfer majority ownership of NEC Display Solutions to Sharp. “While the consolidation trend contributes to limiting the number of participants in the marketplace, there is also a steady inflow of new players including start-ups eyeing the digital signage industry,” concluded Andersson. -- Tradearabia News Service