Most commercial real estate properties sport signage. The more generally public access that happens—shopping centers and malls, hotels, offices, medical buildings, even warehouses—the greater importance signage plays to direct car and vehicle traffic, catch attention, provide warnings, offer information, and motivate people into doing what someone wants them to do (often known as advertising and marketing).

Over the years, digital signage has become more important for a variety of reasons, including an ability to employ multimedia, presumed branding to show a company as forward looking, the ease of changing what is on display, and the attraction of a novelty factor, which is less probably less compelling today given how long the technologies have been in public use.

Their business model has become a niche category for REITs as well as an established venue for ads networks.