West Edmonton Mall uses QL to power its mall digital signage

West Edmonton Mall, one of the largest North American shopping centers, was looking for a centralized shopping mall digital signage software that could improve the customer experience and increase visitor engagement. Navori Labs’ seamless integration with the shopping mall’s back-end systems resulted in more reliable content updates and more effective wayfinding signage. West Edmonton Mall is now able to deploy content to a wide variety of screens across their property. Mall staff also manage the content on the food court’s digital menu boards, and on strategically located video walls to elevate the shopping experience. West Edmonton Mall staff members rely on QL to create a dynamic and engaging environment for shoppers and guests. Screens across the property advertise mall events or display health & safety information. This aspect has been extremely useful during the pandemic. Social media messages and local news are other types of information shoppers can see on some of the mall’s digital displays.

“Navori Labs has been an integral part of our marketing strategy. The system fulfils our need for flexibility, scalability, and ease of use. The team at Navori Labs supported us throughout the whole process and provided an effortless roll-out of the new system. Our continued partnership with Navori Labs is valuable in helping us achieve business success.”

Tiffany Banh

Marketing Coordinator – WEM

What were the project’s software requirements?

West Edmonton Mall needed a solution that could ensure the reliable and efficient management of the company’s digital signage content and hardware playback devices.

ONE PLAYER FOR EVERY PLATFORM – Mall management was looking for a solution that could use existing hardware to deliver rich content with professional quality playback. The software had to support a range of media player devices and System-on-Chip screens used throughout the property.
DATA FEED INTEGRATION – Non-technical users needed to integrate real-time data from various sources into their content without relying on technical staff assistance. QL let’s mall staff bring in external data for their own custom templates.
LIVE CONTENT UPDATES- Each food court tenant’s digital menu boards operates individually. Using QL’s Content Manager, staff members manage and update the content for each restaurant. They can easily make changes to menu board prices, item descriptions and product photography.

CROSS-PLAYER CONTENT SYNCHRONIZATION– QL lets staff synchronize menu board content across multiple System-on-Chip screens to deliver a better guest experience.

CONDITIONAL CONTENT PLAYBACK – Modern digital signage software solutions like QL use automation to lighten staff workloads. Content can be shown or triggered on-screen in reaction to live events. For example, ads and promotions can be shown based on current weather conditions or product stocking levels. Emergency messages can be triggered based on data from an alarm system. It’s easy to integrate QL with third-party software or any external data source.

CONFERENCE CENTER ROOM BOOKING– Screens installed in the mall’s hotel and conference center show room occupancy in real-time. Guests are kept informed with constantly updated information across every digital signage screen.

About West Edmonton Mall

The story of West Edmonton Mall is the story of how a handful of visionaries took an ordinary idea like a shopping center and turned it into a world-class retail destination. The Mall’s stores, attractions, and services combine to form the most comprehensive retail, hospitality and entertainment complex on Earth. As the prototype for mixed-use entertainment facilities, West Edmonton Mall is a place where people come to shop, play, and stay.

West Edmonton Mall’s concept is inspired by the traditional urban bazaars of Persia, where shopping and entertainment were plentiful and operated in tandem, fulfilling a variety of consumer needs all in one place.

At 5.3 million square feet, the Mall is the size of a small city and is accredited as a zoo. West Edmonton Mall is home to more than 800 stores and services including twelve world class attractions, two hotels, over 100 dining venues, the widest variety of one-of-a-kind retailers, and entertainment for all ages. Average yearly visitation is approximately 30.8 million, making West Edmonton Mall the province’s number-one tourist attraction.

QL Software modules used

AAP-40QL Core: Server On-Premise – Desktop and Mobile Content Manager, Multi-user with customizable roles – SSO, Template and Ticker Designer, Data Feed Manager XML, RSS, Twitter, Facebook, Office 365 and Google Calendar and basic Monitoring

BAP-14 Multi media-player content synchronization module

AAP-41 Expert module including advanced monitoring and aggregated playback reporting

HW-03 Stix 3500 series– 4k external media player. Android. Three years warranty

QL Digital Signage Software