Audio and video for NYC retail stores.
From digital signage in a SoHo boutique to background music and promotional displays in a multi-floor flagship, we install audio and video built for the pace of retail. We work around your store hours and coordinate with building management, so the AV keeps pace with your build-out.
Window displays hang from the structure above on a ceiling pole, set back from the glass for airflow as the maker specifies. Power at the ceiling plate is coordinated with the electrician; a power cord never runs through the ceiling or wall.
A store is open to the street, the landlord and the public.
Tight build-out schedules, landlord rules and customer-facing work. This is what we plan for on every retail job.
Storefront and window screens
A display that faces the street needs a high-brightness panel, commonly 2,500 nits or more. A standard indoor display washes out in direct sun. We hang window screens from structure, set back and vented as the maker specifies, and within the landlord's facade rules.
Store hours and scheduling
Nobody wants installers pulling cable through the sales floor at noon on a Saturday. We schedule work before opening, after closing or overnight, as your store needs.
Landlord and building sign-off
Retail tenants in mixed-use buildings, especially with co-op units above, often need landlord approval for any penetration or conduit run. We document the work and provide as-builts when the managing agent or super asks for them.
Background audio by zone
The sales floor, fitting rooms, checkout and stockroom each need a different level. We wire multi-zone audio so each area has its own volume and source, which matters most in larger stores and concept spaces.
Signage across several stores
Chains and franchise locations need the same content in every store. Networked media players with one management platform let your marketing team push content to every screen remotely.
Plenum-rated cable
Where the space above a drop ceiling is an air-handling plenum, cable must be plenum rated (CMP for Cat6, CL2P or CL3P for AV cable) or run in conduit. It hangs on its own supports, never on the ceiling grid. Every penetration we make through a fire-rated wall or floor is fire-stopped.
Three screens, one schedule.
Each screen has its own media player. The schedule lives in the signage software, so the content changes by time of day without anyone touching a remote. Pick a time of day.
At opening, each player starts its morning playlist: new arrivals in the window, the brand film on the sales floor, the rewards sign-up at checkout.
At 11 AM the schedule switches all three screens at once. The window talks to people on their lunch break; checkout pushes gift wrap while the line is long.
From 3 PM the window says how late you are open and the sales floor promotes tonight's event. The players keep their schedule and content stored locally, so the screens keep playing if the internet drops.
What we install in NYC retail stores.
Every system is scoped to your floor plan, your lease and the way customers move through the store.
Digital signage and promotional displays
Commercial displaysWall-mounted and ceiling-hung commercial displays for promotions, brand video and seasonal campaigns. Commercial displays are rated for long daily hours, which a consumer TV is not. Includes media player setup and the content management software.
High-brightness window displays
2,500 nits or moreStorefront displays commonly rated 2,500 nits or more, so they stay readable in direct sun. Built to handle the heat behind glass, hung from structure and set back from the glass as the maker specifies, within the landlord's facade rules.
Background music
Zoned audioCeiling speakers placed for even coverage with no loud spot under one speaker. Larger stores usually run a 70 V line, with a transformer tap on each speaker to set its level. Each zone gets its own amplifier channel and volume. Plays from Sonos or from a music service licensed for business use.
Video walls
FlagshipMulti-panel arrays for flagships, feature walls and brand areas. Mounts with fine adjustment so the seams line up, fixed into structure or blocking, plus cabling and video wall processor setup.
Checkout and staff monitors
CheckoutSecure mounts for checkout displays, back-office monitors and inventory screens. Cables run through the millwork or in conduit so the sales floor stays clean.
AV across several locations
ChainsEvery store on the same media player platform and management software. One content update reaches every screen in every store on the schedule you set.
From site survey to a working store.
Retail installs run on tight schedules. This is how we get from the first walk to a working system without getting in the way of sales.
Site survey and scope
We walk the space: ceiling type, existing conduit, electrical panel location, demising walls and landlord restrictions. A pre-war Midtown store and a new Hudson Yards build-out have different limits, and we document both before we quote.
Design and written quote
You get a written scope with equipment, the cable routing plan and a written price, so there are no surprise add-ons on site. If the scope needs landlord approval, we say so up front.
Scheduled install
We work in your off-hours window: before opening, after closing or overnight. On phased build-outs we coordinate with your GC or millwork crew so AV rough-in happens before walls close and ceilings go up.
Testing, training and handoff
Every display, speaker and media player is tested before we leave. We walk your store manager through daily use, source switching and volume, in the store, not in a manual.
Retail AV, answered.
Do we need a permit to install commercial displays in our NYC retail space?
It depends on the scope and the building. Mounting displays, running speaker cable and installing media players is low-voltage work, and new power or conduit tied into a larger build-out may fall under a permit that is already open. We check during the site visit and tell you what applies before work is scheduled. If your landlord requires documented work under the lease, we provide the documentation and coordinate with your GC.
Can you work overnight or before store opening so we do not lose sales hours?
Yes. We can install overnight, early in the morning before you open, or on days the store is closed. We confirm your operating schedule during the site survey and plan the install around it from the start.
What kind of screens do you recommend for storefront window displays?
A high-brightness commercial display. Typical indoor displays are a few hundred nits, which washes out in a sunny storefront, most of all one that faces south or west. Window-facing displays are commonly 2,500 nits or more, are built to handle the heat that builds up behind glass, and often have a light sensor that turns them down after dark. We pick the model for your window, its orientation and your content.
We have three NYC locations. Can you manage the AV across all of them consistently?
Yes. We build every store on a common media player platform (BrightSign is one example) so your marketing team can push content to every screen from one dashboard. We do the physical install at each location and set up the network the same way in every store.
Our store has a drop ceiling with existing HVAC runs. How do you handle cable routing?
Drop ceilings are the most common case. Where the space above the ceiling is an air-handling plenum, cable must be plenum rated or run in conduit, and it hangs from its own supports, not from the ceiling grid. We route around ducts and existing conduit, and use surface raceway or in-wall conduit where the ceiling is not accessible. We document every route so your super or the next contractor knows exactly what is where.
Our landlord says we cannot drill into structural walls. Can you still mount displays?
Yes. We can mount to a partition wall with added blocking, use a freestanding display stand rated for commercial use, hang the display from a ceiling pole fixed to the structure above (never to the ceiling grid), or use backing built into the millwork by your fit-out contractor. This comes up often in older Midtown buildings and SoHo cast-iron lofts. In a landmarked building or historic district, exterior work may still need Landmarks Preservation Commission approval. We confirm the approach on the site visit before we quote.
Audio and video for every kind of business.
Schedule a retail AV site visit.
We walk your space, review your landlord's rules and give you a clear written scope and price before any work is scheduled.