North America is undoubtedly the world’s largest digital signage market, with rollouts on scale that isn’t comparable to anywhere else in the Western world. But the challenges are also greater in practice than they seem from the outside. The U.S. has 50 states, each with different labor regulations and strong unions, making project execution complex. Implementing projects from Europe or acquiring new U.S. customers remotely is simply not feasible.
A US subsidiary is on the wish list of most digital signage providers—not only for rollouts but also to attract new local customers. With the acquisition of Zero-In, a full-service integrator, Trison now gains full access to creative, technical, and project management expertise in the U.S.
A step that competitors in the industry, whether integrators or software providers, are also looking for. With 12 major metropolitan regions across both coasts, over 200 smaller regions plus Canada, gaining a foothold in the American market is seen as essential to achieve global relevance and growth. Especially since Trump’s re-election, many large digital signage providers are feeling additional pressure to operate with their own subsidiaries in the U.S.
A side effect of having own operations in North America that should not be underestimated is higher company valuations. Companies with US business and US subsidiaries have a different visibility with financial investors.
Beyond the global brands and flagship stores, America is a developing country for digital signage
But the digital signage market in North America is not dominated by immersive flagship stores and AI signage. The digital signage bread and butter business in North America is often less data-driven than in Europe. Retail media networks are less sophisticated – according to American experts, the gap is 3 years compared to Northern Europe, the UK and the DACH region.
A lot of potential that can be tapped by experienced European digital signage providers. But the American competition is not sleeping and is not waiting for new international competitors. It will be interesting to see how Trison & Co can also win local customers beyond the North Atlantic in the future.
