How do Electronic Shelf Labels work?
Electronic Shelf Labels (also called Digital Price Tags) are small electronic devices, that display prices, promotions and other product information on a digital screen (instead of a paper ticket). They provide an automated solution to retail store price changes, which when you think about a supermarket, pharmacy or discount store with 5,000+ products, is an amazing time saver.
But enough about how wonderful the solution is! How do they work?
Screen
The screen uses eink (epaper) technology, this is the same as a kindle. Eink screens for digital price labels are currently available in red/black/white or yellow/black/white. The reason they use this type of screen and not a full colour digital screen, is because the latter would use too much power. It would therefore need to be wired to the electricity, whereas the beauty of Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) is that they are a wire free solution.
Power
ESLs run on batteries. Our ESLs have been optimised over the years, they have a proprietary processer, with low power consumption, this enables a battery life of up to 15 years (which is the longest in the industry)! Battery life is important, as it determines the amount of time you can utilise the hardware investment, without additional costs.
Communication
ESL systems communicate in different ways. Most, including our technology, use Radio Frequency (RF). This provides a quick and reliable transmission, between the electronic labels and the transmitter (called an Access Point in our system). Data is encrypted and sent over a secure frequency. One transmitter can cover a 30m diameter, with the radio waves reaching each label within that zone, without having to worry about ‘line of sight’. On the contrast, Infrared, which is the other type of transmission, does rely on ‘line of sight’ (like a TV remote). Therefore the shop ceiling must be fitted with an extensive network of transmitters, which enable each electronic label to be reached. This is more costly and arduous to implement.
Different technologies manage the communication in different ways but our ESL technology solution has 2-way communication, which means you can actually see when the labels have successfully updated. Giving management this insight is very useful, especially when managing updates remotely or automatically through a POS integration. Alerts can also be set up to inform administrators of any system events.
Platform
So we’ve covered off the labels, the transmitters and the transmission itself, the final element is the platform that controls the labels. These are all proprietary for each solution provider and therefore the specifications differ slightly. The main functions of our technology platform include:
Access management - users and stores.
ESL management – binding and managing the labels and products.
Price change management - schedule and deploy price change updates.
Page switch – configuring and managing the 8-page options available on each ESL.
Flashing light - configure ESL flashing LED light strategies, such as order picking and stock replenishment.
NFC - configure the URL that is activated for each label upon near field contact.
Geo-location - configure location strategies, such as way-finding.
Reporting – review activity and stats.
Template tool – create and deploy templates in the 3 colour options, using - text, QR codes, ratings, low-res images and background sections.
Integration
Here at FutureShelf, we manage the integration between the ESL platform and the retailers POS or ERP system. We can integrate with any existing system, in order to create a seamless process flow for our clients.
So that’s how Electronic Shelf Labels work, in a nutshell.
For more information on our award-winning solution, please download a brochure or contact us directly.
