How much time does your team spend changing paper price tags every week?
For many retailers, this manual process eats up valuable hours that could be better spent helping customers or managing inventory.
Fortunately, there's a modern solution: electronic shelf labels (ESLs).
Traditional paper labels are prone to errors, time-consuming to update, and offer limited flexibility for promotions. In contrast, electronic shelf labels, or digital price tags, allow for instant, store-wide updates from a central system.
This blog post explains how electronic shelf labels work and why they are becoming a vital tool for retail businesses in South Africa and beyond.
Electronic shelf labels are small, battery-powered digital displays that show product and pricing information right on the shelf.
The core of an ESL system consists of three main components:
1. The Electronic Labels: These are the digital price tags themselves. They use e-paper technology, the same kind found in e-readers like the Kindle. This technology is ideal because it's easy to read from any angle and uses very little power. The screen only consumes energy when the price or information is being updated, which gives the batteries a lifespan of several years.
2. The Communication Network: The labels receive information wirelessly from access points installed in the store. This network uses radio frequencies like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to send data from the main system to each individual tag. This wireless connection ensures that any label, from the front of the store to the back can be updated.
3. The Central Management Software: This is the brain of the operation. The software links your store's point-of-sale (POS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to the labels. When you update a price or promotion in your central database, the software automatically sends this new information through the network to the correct electronic shelf labels on the floor.
In short, when you change a price on your computer, the management software sends a signal to the wireless access point, which then transmits the new data to the specific digital price tag.
The e-paper display on that tag updates in seconds, with no need for an employee to print a new label and find the product on the shelf.
Switching from paper to digital price tags offers numerous advantages that can give your business a competitive edge.
Improved Pricing Accuracy: Eliminate pricing errors and ensure consistency between your shelves and your POS system. This builds customer trust and avoids frustrating discrepancies at the checkout counter.
Increased Operational Efficiency: Free up your staff from the tedious task of manually changing hundreds or thousands of labels. They can instead focus on more valuable activities, like customer service and stock management.
Dynamic Pricing and Promotions: Instantly deploy store-wide sales, happy-hour specials, or price changes in response to competitors' pricing. You can schedule promotions in advance, giving you greater control over your sales strategy.
Better Customer Experience: Provide customers with more than just a price. ESLs can display stock levels, promotional details, QR codes for more product information, and even competitor pricing, empowering customers to make informed decisions.
Better Inventory Management: By integrating with your inventory system, ESLs can display real-time stock information, helping both staff and customers know what's available.
Electronic shelf labels are a powerful investment for any retail business looking to improve efficiency, accuracy, and the overall customer experience.
Ready to bring your store into the digital age?
Milestone is a leading provider of electronic shelf labels in South Africa.
Contact Milestone today to request a quote.