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Point-of-sale advertising, upselling and cross-selling with digital signage

Quick answer: DigitalSignage.com runs point-of-sale screens from the free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever, then $3 per screen per month, so a counter screen and a menu board cost nothing in software. A point-of-sale screen sells the next item: the drink with the sandwich, the combo instead of the burger, the accessory with the phone, the warranty with the appliance. Our benefits page reports upselling prompts lift sales 15 to 30% and combo meal suggestions 20 to 25%, and that impulse purchases increase by 19.8% with digital point-of-purchase displays. Daypart the offer, feed prices from the POS, and measure lift against a control store.

Last updated October 22, 2026. Product facts from the POS integration and SignStudio scheduling documentation; figures from our benefits and ROI pages.

Where the screen goes​

PositionJobSize and content
Counter screen, facing the customerThe last word before paymentSmall (counter displays are typically 24 to 32 inches), one add-on offer, member price
Menu board, above the counterSteer the order toward combos and sidesCombos first, add-ons priced as "+ $1.50"
Queue linePlant the idea before the orderThe featured item, the limited-time offer
Shelf edge and endcapCross-sell the companion product"Goes with" pairs, bundle price
Service desk and returnsSell a plan or a replacementWarranty, upgrade, accessory
Drive-thruPre-sell and confirmDayparted combos, order confirmation

The quick-service restaurant page covers the menu board side in more depth.

Upselling versus cross-selling on screen​

Upselling moves the customer to a bigger or better version: the large, the combo, the premium. Cross-selling adds a related item: the drink, the case, the side. An upsell slide shows two sizes with the price difference and a reason ("large for 70 cents more"); a cross-sell slide shows the pair with the bundle price. One offer per slide, 7 to 15 seconds per item; a counter screen with six offers sells none of them.

Dayparting the add-on​

"Add a drink" at 8 am means coffee; at 1 pm it means a soft drink; at 9 pm it may mean a dessert. DigitalSignage.com includes scheduling and dayparting on every plan, including the free tier: build a campaign per daypart with its own counter slide and menu combos, and the player switches at the times you set. Add a weekend variant, and a hot-weather variant (iced drinks, for example) that the manager switches on when the forecast calls for it.

Feeding prices from the POS​

A point-of-sale screen that shows a price the register does not charge is a refund waiting to happen. Our POS integration page describes the options: a direct API connection (Square Catalog API, Toast Menu API, Clover REST API, Lightspeed), no-code middleware, a shared database on premises, or a scheduled CSV or XML export for POS systems without an API. With webhooks a price change in the POS reaches the screens within seconds; polling every few minutes is the fallback. Sold-out items can hide themselves or show Sold Out automatically. POS integrations for Square, Toast, Clover and Lightspeed are an Enterprise feature on DigitalSignage.com. Without a direct integration, the Google Sheets component shows live spreadsheet data, so staff update a price list in a shared sheet and the screens follow.

Placement rules that hold up​

  1. The counter screen faces the customer, not the cashier, and sits at or just above counter height.
  2. One offer per slide; the offer the cashier is trained to mention gets the slide.
  3. Prices on the screen match the register to the cent, on the same day.
  4. Add-on prices are shown as the increment ("+ $1"), not the total.
  5. The featured item is in stock; a sold-out upsell trains customers to ignore the screen.
  6. Keep the screen still while the customer pays; motion distracts from the transaction and the cashier's question.
  7. Rotate the offer weekly at least; a permanent offer becomes invisible.
  8. Keep regulatory content (calorie counts where FDA menu labeling applies, allergen notes, price disclosures) in a fixed zone that does not rotate away; check the requirements for your business with counsel.

Measuring lift​

Point-of-sale screens are the easiest signage to measure because the register already counts everything. The method on our ROI page:

  1. Pick a test store and a control store with similar sales.
  2. Record sales of the promoted item, attachment rate (drinks per sandwich, cases per phone) and average ticket for four weeks before.
  3. Run the screen for four weeks and record the same figures in both stores.
  4. Signage-attributable lift is the test store's change minus the control store's change. The ROI page's worked example shows a 25% increase in the test store against a 5% seasonal increase in the control, for a 20% attributable lift.

Our ROI page lists upsell revenue at 5 to 15% of customers and impulse purchases at a 10 to 20% increase as planning lines; use your own register data once you have it. Proof of play reports (Enterprise) match a slide schedule to a sales report.

Hardware and cost​

A counter screen is a small commercial monitor or a tablet-sized display with a player behind it; a menu board is a TV or commercial panel. A $40 to $100 Android stick, a complete Raspberry Pi build at $81 to $137 or a spare PC runs the free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer; it does not run on Fire OS, Tizen or webOS. Software: the first 3 screens are free forever; from the fourth screen every screen is $3 per screen per month, so a 10-screen store is $360 a year. POS integration moves the account to Enterprise, priced through the public calculator. Electricity is about $75 a year per screen at 12 hours a day.

22 point-of-sale offer ideas​

  1. Make it a combo for $2 more.
  2. Large for 70 cents more.
  3. Add a drink, dayparted: coffee, soft drink, dessert.
  4. Add a side, with the pair pictured.
  5. Two for one on the slow-moving item.
  6. Goes with: the accessory next to the product.
  7. Protect it: the case or the plan.
  8. Gift card at the register.
  9. Round up for charity.
  10. Member price next to regular price.
  11. Join the loyalty program, with a QR code.
  12. Limited-time item with the end date.
  13. Staff pick of the week.
  14. Bundle of three at a bundle price.
  15. Today only, before 11 am.
  16. Buy the second at half price.
  17. Order ahead next time, with the app.
  18. Try the new flavor, sample at the counter.
  19. Catering and bulk orders.
  20. Refill or subscription offer.
  21. Warranty or service plan at the service desk.
  22. Thank you, see you tomorrow, with tomorrow's offer.

Frequently asked questions​

Does a counter screen really increase sales?

Our benefits page reports upselling prompts lift sales 15 to 30%, combo meal suggestions 20 to 25%, and impulse purchases increase by 19.8% with digital point-of-purchase displays. Your own register data is the figure to trust: compare a test store with a control store for four weeks before and after, and subtract the control store's change.

How do I keep screen prices in sync with the register?

Feed them from the POS. DigitalSignage.com documents POS integrations for Square, Toast, Clover and Lightspeed on its Enterprise plan, by direct API, middleware, a shared database or a scheduled CSV or XML export, with webhooks pushing price changes within seconds. Without a direct integration, the Google Sheets component shows a shared price list that staff update.

What should a point-of-sale screen show at the moment of payment?

One still offer: the add-on the cashier is trained to mention, priced as the increment, in stock, with the price matching the register. Keep motion off the screen while the customer pays, and keep any required calorie, allergen or price disclosures in a fixed zone.

Can the add-on offer change by time of day?

Yes. DigitalSignage.com includes scheduling and dayparting on every plan, including the free tier. Build a campaign per daypart, coffee with breakfast and a soft drink at lunch for example, and the player switches at the scheduled times.

How do I measure upsell lift from digital signage?

Record sales of the promoted item, attachment rate and average ticket in a test store and a control store for four weeks before and after. Attributable lift is the test store's change minus the control store's change; our ROI page shows a 25% test increase against 5% in the control for a 20% attributable lift. Proof of play reports on the Enterprise plan match slide schedules to sales reports.

What does point-of-sale digital signage cost?

Software is free for the first 3 screens on DigitalSignage.com, then $3 per screen per month for every screen once the account has 4 or more, so 10 screens are $360 a year. POS integration is an Enterprise feature priced through the public calculator. Hardware is a small commercial monitor or TV plus a $40 to $100 Android stick or an $81 to $137 Raspberry Pi build.

Try it on your own screens, free​

DigitalSignage.com, which publishes this guide, runs a permanent free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever (no credit card, no ads, no time limit), then from $3 per screen per month with volume pricing via a public calculator. The free SignPlayer runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, iPad or any modern web browser. Start free · 2026 pricing

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