Cutting Edge

Supermarket shelving is playing a more sophisticated part in marketing.

- Bob Ingram

Heretofore taken for granted, the once lowly shelf is taking on an expanded role in the evolution of food retailing. “The concept of ESLs [electronic shelf labels] has been around for years,” says Paul Milner, marketing director at Displaydata, based in the U.K. town of Bracknell, “but in today’s ever-growing digital retail environment, retailers and their customers are ready to make this new generation of ESLs a part of the store experience.”

Displaydata’s fully graphic three-color ESLs, with the option of integrated Bluetooth Low Energy beacons, enable grocers “to drive in-store pricing and promotions with speed, agility and consistency,” Milner notes, adding that they can also display product, price, promotion, nutritional information and stock levels, as well as enable centralized management of any number of ESLs across any number of stores in seconds.

“We believe that … key drivers for grocery retailers adopting ESLs are transparency and integrity,” Milner observes. “Grocers want to earn the customer’s trust, which means it is critical to offer price and promotion accuracy at the shelf edge that also matches what is advertised in online channels.”

With Amazon’s aggressive moves into grocery, he notes, the stakes are higher than ever, and the right technology innovations can help grocers compete.

“We believe that in the next five years, the majority of retailers will achieve full digital integration,” Milner says, “and grocery retailers will adopt ESLs to achieve everyday low pricing, easily match prices with competitors or web-based delivery services, and much more.”

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