Report: In-store electronic pricing helps bottom line

Electronic shelf labels are poised to gain momentum.



That’s according to a new report by ABI Research, which said that several big-box retail deployments of the technology will trigger a domino effect in market growth over the next two years. The company predicted that the electronic shelf label (ESL) market will grow tenfold by 2022, hitting more than $4 billion in global revenues.



“ESLs provide retailers with a significant ROI by streamlining paper/staff costs, reducing the risk of human error, cutting back on waste, and improving price perception,” stated ABI Research. “All the benefits can collectively affect retailers' bottom lines by as much as 5%.”



The growth comes as retailers increasingly struggle to effectively match online pricing, digitize their physical stores, meet new order fulfillment models, and streamline the shopping experience.



With multi-color graphic display prices falling, in-aisle promotion barriers are disappearing, with many major grocery chains in the U.S. and U. K expected to roll out ESLs over the next three years.



ABI Research anticipates that online pricing will become omnichannel pricing, which means in-store dynamic pricing will soon become a reality with ESLs playing a predominant role.



In collaboration with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and NFC (Near Field Communication) technologies, ESLs can track purchases as customers shop, allowing retailers to build apps that eliminate the need for queues and checkout processes entirely, according to ABI Research.