Blog

Think about all of the amazing things going on in retail right now. And then think of the shelf-edge – with printed paper labels. In fact, the way goods are priced in-store hasn’t changed in decades.

One of the first questions we’re asked by prospective customers is: “When will we see ROI from Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs).”

Paul Milner, Marketing Director, Displaydata  

One of the advantages that online retailers have over bricks and mortar stores is
the ability to change prices quickly: one well-known online brand amends its pricing 2.5 million times a day. 

In the store, retailers need to prioritise pricing as they only have a finite resource – in the 
shape of their staff – to make changes. So, for example, with grocery retailers, the daily markdown of perishable goods is not only essential, it also reduces the scope to launch promotions in other areas of the store. There are more reasons, too, why a manual approach to pricing could impct the competitiveness of physical stores.

Our team spent a week in Germany at the end of February, teaming up with our partners from Delphi Technologies at the popular EuroCIS 2016 Conference. Now that we’ve settled back into the regular swing of things after a great trip, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our experience.  

And so, another successful NRF Big Show is in the books! This year’s conference hosted over 33,500 attendees previewing the latest in retail technology and innovative ideas. From our perspective, the main themes of the show seem to revolve around digital innovations and most importantly, making the customer the focus.   In keeping with NRF tradition to launch never-before-seen technology solutions, the Displaydata team was proud to announce the newest additions to our ESL suite: the Aura 29 BLE with Bluetooth Low Energy, the Chroma 16 and the Chroma 74. We also showcased our new ability to track in-store customer behavior through our partnership with SmartFocus, complete with an eye-catching wine display that some lucky winners were able to enjoy the contents of with our #NRFWineDown drawing on the last day of the show.  

At retail’s BIG Show next week, retailers will gain insight into the latest technology solutions to help make their stores and retail channels more profitable and provide their customers with “out of this world” shopping experiences. By now we all know that offering in-store digital engagement options to today’s connected customer is a necessity sooner rather than later – what can retailers do to offer these interactive, engaging and personalized solutions to customers while also adding to the bottom line and increasing the operational efficiency of the retailer?   Look no further than the electronic shelf label, or ESL.  

  NRF is quickly approaching, and the entire Displaydata team is looking forward to another great show in New York. As always, Retail’s BIG Show – a four-day event – offers unparalleled education, collegial networking and an enormous EXPO Hall full of the latest in retail technologies and solutions. It really is THE one-stop-shopping event for industry professionals from around the world.  

Displaydata is excited to again showcase our industry-leading, full-graphic electronic shelf labels in booth #4343. In addition, next month we’ll be making some exciting announcements on the availability of a new Aura 2.9 inch, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) ESL, as well as a preview of our newest sized Chroma labels. Stay tuned in for more details on our new ESLs in early January!   In the meantime, below is an overview of the NRF sessions that our team is most looking forward to attending.  

Price has always been a fiercely fought battleground between retailers, but the intensity of this competition has soared in recent years. The reason for this? Amazon.  
  For retail stores in particular, Amazon’s constantly fluctuating prices are the stuff of nightmares. While changes can be made online in a matter of seconds, it can take some retailers hours, days or even weeks – to update paper price labels across their store network. With this discrepancy, how are they supposed to remain consistent with digital channels, let alone competitive?   We conducted some research recently for our Rethinking Retail report: Getting the In-Store Price Right in a Digital Age which revealed that 68% of UK shoppers and 72% of US shoppers have been deterred from purchasing an item in a store because they believed the price to be too high.