Running a company is a cutthroat business. It is a world of competitiveness. Finding a way to stay afloat is vital. Furthermore, making progress and getting on top of your domain matters too. But, first and foremost you want to excel among your closest competitors. Beating your closest rival is an ideal way to stand out among the crowd. There are many ways to do this. Sometimes it is easy to be and remain competitive. Other times it’s hard. The worst part is that sometimes it is easy to miss small details that can be your fuel for moving forward.
Enter electronic shelf labels. Overlooked, right? We bet they are. Are you using ESL within your business? If that’s the case, it is time for a massive change. You need to introduce them to your company. They will change the way you run your business. What’s even better, applying ESLs will help you stand out among your peers. How in the world will this happen you might ask? Well, there are many ways how electronic shelf labels can help you stay competitive. Keep reading and check out how they will influence your competitive spirit. First of all, we’re going to write a few lines about what ESLs are.
What Are Electronic Shelf Labels?
While you and some other businesses might not be acquainted with them, ESL is quite simple. We are talking about digital price tags. We’re living in a digital age, and the changes in this domain are overdue. Many retail stores are switching to them. Wireless display tables will become a norm in this department soon enough and pos.munbyn.com certainly agrees with us on this one. Traditional paper labels have been in use for decades now, and they were the norm long enough if you ask us. The road for digital changes has been paved for some time now, and retail stores are only following trends. The same as in many other fields, the digital way showed its advantages rather quickly. The main one is the connection through the entire retail store and its primary system. The connection between digital and physical was never stronger in this field. But, how can it help you stay competitive? Let’s see.
1. Accurate Pricing
Back in the day, changing prices was one of the biggest jobs in the retail industry. When you change prices manually it takes a lot of time and effort. The worst part was that it also cost a lot. If you weren’t fast enough in changing your prices and adapting them to the market losses could ensue. When you put time, money, and work in the same sentence you know the losses are on the way if you can’t do the job in time. Inaccurate prices can cost your business dearly. The digital way allows you to change prices on a whim. You can access thousands of labels and their prices in a matter of moments. Like never before you’ll be able to adjust prices in real-time as the changes hit the market.
2. Access to More Information
This is a two-way street. Information tied to labels is vital to both your business and your customers. When you start using ESL tech you’ll notice that now you can give away more info about a certain label than ever before. Yes, the focus will remain on the price, but ESLs offers so much more. You can give your customers info about the product, packaging, facts about nutrition, size, and expiring date in addition to the price. Furthermore, there is this little thing called a QR code which can provide customers with all the data they might require and lead them to the website of your desire or targeted app.
3. Cost Reduction
Yes, when you try to digitize your company it will cost you some money. But, in the long run, you’ll be saving money. At first, switching to electronic shelf labels can be a pricey investment. The system you’re going to use requires an expert workforce and time to be installed. But, once the first few steps are over, everything else is a piece of cake. Once you and your employees get used to ESL the operation tied to prices will be smoother, faster, and with less material used. You’ll lose the need for paper labels, pens and markers, and all the other office supplies you had in abundance. So, at first, you’ll need to invest. Later on, you’ll witness cost reductions tied to your office material supplies and the time needed to get the work done. In the long run, this will not only lead to cost reduction but to profit too.
4. Better Efficiency
It’s been a few years since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, but its influence is still strong. For one, the coronavirus pandemic changed the way we go around our shopping duties. Today, many people love to buy on click. Online shopping and product delivery have reached a new level during the pandemic. While customers have returned to stores, some habits remain. They want to see the price, click on the product, and have it delivered to the register. With ESL this process is made quite faster. Also, it is quite easy for employees to follow the product and see where it is in the store or the warehouse. With the use of clicks and exact product location, ordering, buying, and delivering processes on the spot have all been raised to a new level.
5. Quick Progress
This might be the most important part. This is not a complicated technology. Both the employees and customers get used to it rather quickly. What this means is that profits come flocking your way fast enough. Many companies that have switched to this method of in-store pricing have reported an increase in sales. The margin of increase is generally around 2-3%. Some stores have reported that their sales have increased up to 6% once they switched to electronic shelf labels. Speaking in general terms, and all depending on the size of your store, you can expect that this investment will show returns in a span between one and two years.