Last month, Asda announced it had joined forces with eco-friendly baby brand Pura to help tackle the issue of plastic waste, by producing the UK’s first in-store signage using recycled nappies.
Grocery Trader caught up with Roy Horgan, Group SEVP Strategy, Marketing & Communications of retail IoT company SES-imagotag, to get his thoughts on signage alternatives, and how retailers can go about turning physical stores into digital assets to improve sustainability and efficiency but also to enable a human-centered commerce.
Why are we seeing more retailers opting to update their approach to in-store signage?
Consumer behaviours are constantly evolving in response to psychological, social, cultural, personal, and economic factors. Whether it’s a new mega trend, or the current cost of living crisis, these factors all play a huge part in how people shop – from where they go (online vs in store), to what they spend, to how they look for product information.
As a result, retailers have had to swiftly adapt their business models and operational practices to manage price changes and marketing trends, quickly, efficiently, and across many outlets and channels all at once. This has led to an increased interest in alternative signage solutions that aren’t reliant on having to manually change traditional paper labels – something that is both inefficient and outdated.
What sort of signage alternatives should retailers be considering for their physical stores and why?
Recycling programmes – such as the one being rolled out by Asda – are a good place to start. But they don’t tackle a lot of the broader challenges retailers are currently facing – from needing to change in-store prices instantly, to ensuring up-to-date product information is readily available at the shelf. Electronic labels were already an attractive option but have now become imperative to keep up with the ever-changing landscape and demand from consumers.
Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) technologies have unique and key features to digitise physical commerce, benefiting retailers in several ways. One key advantage of switching to ESLs is the dramatic reduction in paper use; with prices and promotions automated, retailers can work towards a more sustainable operating model. In 2021, SES-imagotag estimated that on an annual basis from the 30,000 stores equipped with its ESLs, 7 billion prices were changed – this represents 8,700 tons of paper if these operations had been done manually. Figuratively, this represents 150,000 trees.
What other benefits do ESLs provide retailers aside from sustainability?
In addition to helping retailers achieve their sustainability goals, ESLs also effectively eliminate pricing errors, reduce time spent on paper tag updates, and better impact consumers’ decisions at the shelf via the availability of timely and relevant information. They are a proven sales booster and essential part of an efficient, sustainable, and connected store – enabling fluidity, intelligence, price synchronisation, and responsiveness across all channels.
Marks & Spencer, for example, opted for a complete installation of ESL technology to its Stevenage store, to explore the potential of improving its operational efficiencies. A complete integration with the stores existing centralised systems was accomplished, resulting in M&S achieving greater label accuracy and allowing employees to allocate more time for customer needs. Staff praised the replacement of paper tickets due to the lengthy and tedious process behind maintaining them.
Due to their dynamic nature, ESLs also allow retailers to promote messaging, promotions, and campaigns to the right customers, at the right time. When the war in Ukraine broke out, for example, SES-imagotag was able to help its customers set up messaging at the shelf for crisis relief campaigns for the Red Cross. Customers were able to donate to the charity to support aid relief fund.
Where do ESL technologies sit in the wider portfolio of cloud-based applications being used by retailers to automate stores and digitise retail?
Electronic Shelf Labels are just one part of the connected IoT ecosystem that is powering retailers’ digital transformation. Add displays, cameras, sensors, and other devices being deployed across stores and there are millions to manage.
Through running these cloud-based, connected devices, retailers can revitalise their operations, turning their physical stores into powerful digital assets that are automated, data-driven, and intelligent. Retailers and store owners benefit from greater insight into inventory management, increased efficiency of replenishment, more accurate pricing and promotions, and improved compliance, to name a few.
Customers, on the other hand, experience improved satisfaction and a better service. By utilising technologies such as ESLs, customers can make more informed decisions based on the information available to them at the shelf – whether it be reviews, specific product details, or tailored price promotions.
What impact will these IoT stores have on retailers’ abilities to achieve their broader sustainability goals?
Product disposal and food waste are significant issues in the retail sector. Stores are faced with the need to rid their stores of products that are unfit for consumption, past their expiration dates, or not wanted by their customers, hurting profitability and the environment.
By using IoT technologies to gain greater visibility into their operations, retailers have access to the data they need to make informed, considered decisions. This might be around which items are selling particularly well and need to be replenished, which products need to be dynamically priced or promoted due to their use by date, or which items have not been in high demand and therefore do not need to be reordered.
These technologies have the potential to sharply decrease the volume of products that stores would otherwise have to consider for disposal (items unfit for consumption, past their expiration dates, or not wanted by customers).
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