San Diego | Europe’s digital signage industry is heading west. Leading integrators such as Econocom, First Impression, Trison, and Vertiseit (Visual Art) are no longer limiting themselves to their home markets. Today, it’s hard to find a major European player without a footprint in North America – whether through acquisitions or by establishing new U.S. entities.
Europe’s Digital Signage Leaders: Testing the Waters in North America
This expansion isn’t just a reaction to shifting global economic dynamics under the current U.S. administration. It’s also a strategic move to counter growing competition in Europe from multinational IT providers. For many, North America represents both opportunity and necessity.
DSE and Beyond: Why San Diego Matters
While the established North American digital signage community remains cautious about the latest iteration of Digital Signage Experience (DSE), the presence of numerous EMEA-based providers at the event is striking. At first glance, the appeal might seem tied to the West Coast’s charm and San Diego’s late-summer vibe. But the real draw is the U.S. market itself – the largest digital signage market in the world.
For us at invidis/Sixteen-Nine, DSE is just the beginning. We’re heading from San Diego straight to Infocomm Latin America in Mexico City because that market, too, is becoming more and more interestig for European providers.
North America: A Market of Contrasts
On paper, the U.S. market looks irresistible: Massive rollouts across retail and enterprise sectors, booming retail media network and fewer restrictions around AI and data protection compared to Europe.
But reality often tells a different story. Beyond major metropolitan areas, digital signage concepts tend to be less data-driven and less complex than in Europe. Surprisingly, North America also trails behind Europe in the development of retail media networks.
The Cost of Entry
Breaking into the U.S. and Canadian markets is not for the faint of heart. It demands significant financial and human resources and eventually presence in the most important metropolitan areas. And an eco-system of regional installation partners to comply with regional labor regulations.
This requires a level of investment that only the largest European providers have managed so far. This is partly because they face formidable domestic competitors: AVI-SPL, Diversified, and Forte dominate as U.S. heavyweights and global IT giants like Ricoh (invidis article) operate at an enterprise scale with multi-billion-dollar revenues
For European firms, success in North America requires more than ambition – it calls for deep pockets, local expertise, and a willingness to adapt to a market that plays by different rules.
