Nils Karsten shares Sharp’s perspective on the challenges and opportunities that will transform the digital signage industry in the years ahead.

Nils Karsten, Business Segment Lead Retail at Sharp Display Solutions Europe, discusses the trends reshaping digital signage, from the rise of artificial intelligence and retail media to the growing importance of sustainability, data integration, and ease of management in increasingly complex environments.

The industry is talking extensively about AI, retail media, and personalization. Which technologies do you believe will generate sustainable business opportunities in digital signage over the next three years, and which do you still consider overrated?

The technologies that will create sustainable value in digital signage are those directly linked to measurable business outcomes: higher conversion rates, operational efficiency, better audience targeting, and reduced deployment complexity. The excitement surrounding AI and Retail Media remains very strong in this industry, but not every trend will survive real-world economic realities.

In the case of Retail Media, the industry has valuable and measurable data, with year-over-year growth rates of 6–7%, as well as a proven track record of success. In addition, much of the required infrastructure is already in place.

As for AI, its impact is more difficult to quantify, although it can provide enormous automation potential, improve operational efficiency, and create new opportunities for integration within retail media ecosystems.

I believe that individual-level personalization and facial recognition-based advertising are, to a large extent, overrated, and that fully autonomous AI systems are not yet ready for the market. That said, ignoring AI would be a mistake. The real question is identifying which AI tools improve performance and reliability without adding unnecessary complexity.

The digital signage market is entering a phase of consolidation and increasing competitive pressure. How is your company’s strategy evolving to differentiate beyond hardware or CMS platforms?

The digital signage industry is moving beyond a stage where hardware capabilities or standalone CMS platforms were sufficient to create long-term differentiation. As the market consolidates, these elements are increasingly becoming basic requirements rather than strategic advantages.

Sharp will continue to take an agnostic approach toward CMS providers and technology partners, strengthening those relationships that help us meet end-customer requirements.

At the same time, we are adding value through deeper hardware integration, making deployments simpler, more reliable, and easier to scale.

This means that we differentiate ourselves by focusing on outcomes, rather than solely on displays or CMS functionality. To support AI-driven content automation, audience analytics, remote device management, and integration with retail, workplace, and transportation business systems, we offer tailored computing solutions such as the new SDM MPi5 Kit, developed by Sharp in collaboration with Raspberry Pi Ltd.

It is not simply an incremental update to the existing MPi5 Kit, but rather a shift in how we think about embedded computing. It combines modular computing, AI readiness, and professional display integration in a compact solution designed for the most demanding digital signage and AV environments.

We also invest in cloud-native and API-first approaches so customers can scale and connect digital signage with their existing ecosystems. Finally, cybersecurity, sustainability, and managed services are becoming critical value drivers as the market continues to consolidate.

The industry increasingly demands integration between AV, IT, data, and analytics. Do you believe the integration channel is prepared for this new environment, or does a significant technology gap still exist?

The integration channel has made progress in combining AV, IT, data, and analytics, but a significant gap remains when solutions become overly complex and overloaded with features.

As platforms evolve, the challenge is no longer simply adding capabilities, but ensuring stability, simplicity, and ease of use for end users. Many organizations face systems that appear powerful on paper but are difficult to maintain, scale, or troubleshoot in day-to-day operations.

The market increasingly values solutions that balance advanced functionality, reliability, intuitive user experiences, and simplified management. In the future, the most successful integrators will be those capable of reducing complexity while still delivering connected, data-driven ecosystems.

Sustainability is no longer limited to energy consumption. How does it influence your decisions regarding product design, manufacturing, maintenance, and the lifecycle of installations?

Today, sustainability affects the entire lifecycle of digital signage solutions, not just energy consumption.

Product design is increasingly focused on durability, modularity, and repairability to extend hardware lifespans and reduce electronic waste. In manufacturing, we are prioritizing recyclable materials. A total of 97.4% of the materials used can be recycled, which is a truly remarkable figure and a key differentiator for Sharp displays within the industry.

Maintenance strategies are also evolving through remote monitoring and predictive support, reducing unnecessary service visits and downtime. Through a variety of RDM solutions, API sets, CEC commands, and our NaViSet Administrator platform, we provide users with multiple options to monitor, control, and protect their installations over long periods of time.

Ultimately, customers are looking for solutions that combine performance, long-term reliability, and a reduced environmental impact throughout the lifecycle of an installation. We believe Sharp successfully meets those expectations.

End users increasingly demand immersive and dynamic experiences while also expecting operational simplicity. How do you balance creativity, automation, and ease of management in today’s digital signage projects?

Everything starts with reliability. We provide the hardware and ensure that the software solutions we support are certified, tested, and operate reliably on our displays.

When projects require additional components to create more immersive experiences, we work with partners such as Nexmosphere to incorporate sensors or cameras, while also offering a wide range of touch-enabled solutions. The key is delivering richer experiences without creating fragile environments. Creativity can only scale if operations remain simple.

Retail media and DOOH are increasingly converging with traditional digital signage. What real opportunities do you see emerging from this convergence, and what role will manufacturers and technology platforms play?

The convergence of retail media, DOOH, and digital signage creates significant opportunities to achieve more targeted, measurable, and data-driven customer engagement.

Displays are evolving from simple communication tools into dynamic advertising and analytics platforms capable of delivering personalized content in real time. This enables retailers and brands to better monetize their physical spaces while improving customer experiences and campaign effectiveness. Manufacturers and technology platforms will play a key role by providing scalable ecosystems that integrate hardware, CMS, analytics, AI, and programmatic advertising capabilities.

The most important success factor will be, as mentioned earlier, ensuring these increasingly advanced solutions remain reliable, easy to manage, and simple to operate at scale.

If you had to define what a truly competitive digital signage platform will look like in 2030, which capabilities do you believe are already essential today?

The future of digital signage will not be determined solely by technology, but also by the evolution of society and human behavior around it.

The entire ecosystem is changing dynamically, from AI-powered displays to the growing integration of intelligent systems into everyday tools such as televisions, smartphones, vehicles, and connected environments. If someone had predicted twenty years ago that people in 2026 would spend more than three and a half hours per day using smartphones, very few would have believed it.

This demonstrates how strongly technology influences perception, expectations, and everyday behavior.

AI is probably the most transformative force since the Industrial Revolution, and its impact on human interaction and communication is only just beginning. As a result, the digital signage systems we consider state-of-the-art today may look very different within just five years.

Audience expectations, content consumption habits, and demand for personalization, interactivity, and contextual relevance are evolving faster than many industries anticipate. Therefore, the future of digital signage will depend less on static hardware and more on adaptive, intelligent, human-centered ecosystems capable of continuously evolving alongside society.

An important point to keep in mind is that technological progress may accelerate far beyond what we currently anticipate, particularly due to advances in AI and connected technologies. However, human habits, trust, and behavior patterns often evolve at a much slower pace than many expect.

While technology may unlock entirely new possibilities, adoption will ultimately depend on how naturally these solutions fit into people’s everyday lives. For this reason, the future of digital signage will be defined not only by technological innovation, but also by understanding human behavior and creating experiences that people genuinely accept and value.