Electronic shelf labels (ESLs) will, in the next five years, grow beyond retail markets in legislated countries and revenues will increase six-fold to nearly $2-billion by 2019, according to an ABI research report: Next Gen Retail: Electronic Shelf Labels.
The report outlines how ESLs, which are near field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth low energy- (BLE) enabled, are set to play an increasingly central role in the retail technology chain.
Patrick Connolly, senior analyst at ABI Research, says: “ESL, in combination with NFC and or BLE solves ongoing retailer issues like out-of-stocks, check-out expenditure reduction, manual price coordination overheads elimination, inventory and store layout management, omni channel consistency, and efficient price management of shrinkage or perishable goods, delivering a return on investment (ROI) within 18 months on these use cases alone. With integrated connectivity, it also brings future potential around dynamic pricing, positive show rooming, tightly integrated in-store advertising, redemption, loyalty, analytics, and pay-as-you-go shopping.”
“This report is interesting to us,” says Minesh Manga, director at XON Retail Solutions, “because it mirrors the Pricer strategy, which was outlined in the company’s second quarter report. We’ve seen the same consistent growth in the retail sector in South Africa and neighbouring countries for the reasons the report outlines and we’ve also seen piquing interest in diverse sectors.” XON is the sole authorised African distributor of Pricer ESLs.
Jonas Vestin, CEO at Pricer, says: “Retailers are being increasingly attracted to the revenue-enhancing possibilities offered by new and emerging technologies. Pricer’s digital retail platform will play a major role in creating truly connected stores, allowing retailers to take full advantage of these fresh opportunities and improve store performance, simplify price optimisation between physical and online stores, advance customer satisfaction and loyalty – and ultimately boost their bottom-line.”
Pricer has already proven the concept with the recent implementation of its solutions in Carrefour’s new flagship store in Paris. The store became the first worldwide to allow customers to benefit from Pricer’s digital retail platform using indoor navigation, mobile shopping and NFC-enabled SmartTAGs. The project has subsequently been shortlisted for prestigious international retail awards.