According to a new research report from Berg Insight, the installed base of connected digital signage displays reached 91.5 million in 2023.
Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3 percent, the installed base of connected displays is expected to reach 149.4 million units in 2028.
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 EU27+3 countries totalled an estimated 4.6 million units in 2023, whereas shipments to North America reached 5.8 million units. The Rest of World market accounted for the remaining 10.9 million units. Berg Insight forecasts that global shipments of display screens for digital signage will grow from 21.2 million units in 2023 to reach 36.6 million units by 2028.
The digital signage industry is highly fragmented with a large number of companies active in the market. Similar to other fragmented markets, consolidation is increasingly taking place among the industry vendors as the market matures.
“M&A activity cooled off during the Covid-19 pandemic but has now regained momentum”, said Felix Linderum, IoT Analyst at Berg Insight.
Many of the transactions are expected to take place among software vendors, end-to-end solution providers and system integrators.
“Many of the leading players in these domains have outspoken strategies of inorganic growth and seek to expand their geographical footprint, installed base and technological know-how”, continued Mr. Linderum.
Companies that have been leading the consolidation trend include STRATACACHE, ZetaDisplay, Vertiseit, Spectrio, Poppulo and Uniguest. One of the most eye-catching deals recently was the agreement between NEC and Sharp to create the joint venture Sharp NEC Display Solutions in 2020. While the consolidation trend is evident, there is also a steady inflow of new players including start-ups eyeing the digital signage industry.
Mr. Linderum concluded:
“As digital signage projects are becoming more advanced and increasingly business-critical in their nature, smaller players are expected to find it challenging to compete, ultimately resulting in the industry being dominated by a few major vendors.”