ESL Benefit Analysis 3: Marketing & Customer Experience

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been looking in detail at the benefits of Electronic Shelf Labels; Week 1 focused on Labour Time Saving and Week 2 focussed on Operational Efficiency. This week we’ll be looking at the 3rd and final area where we see substantial benefits – Marketing & Customer Experience.

When Electronic Shelf Label / Digital Price Tag technology was first developed it used LCD display to show the price on a small digital device. This essentially looked like a calculator screen, so it was very limited in what could be displayed. The only real options were numbers and some other codes, and it was quite hard to read, with a lot of light reflection if angled wrong. So understandably the marketing team were not jumping for joy at the thought of implementing the solution. Nowadays Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) use electronic paper displays (like a kindle) to show a variety of content – numbers, text, icons, images, and QR codes. The design is very flexible so retailers can develop a range of screen templates, that match their brand and their promotional activity, calling out offers and other information in colour (red or yellow).

As such I would say that the screen design has actually surpassed that of paper tickets or at least matched its capabilities at drawing attention to offers. On top of that, ESLs have a range of other features that enable deeper product content and dynamic interactions with customers. These utilise 2 features on the ESLs:

• QR codes. QR codes are now extremely common place, partly due to their utilisation for restaurant menus during Covid. In retail they’re used to drive customers online (via their phone) to see more product information – full specs, videos, reviews, tasting notes, ingredient lists, allergy alerts etc.

• NFC. Similar to QR codes NFC (Near Field Communication) drives an action on your smartphone, when placed close to the ESL. NFC is used for Apple Wallet and other such ‘pay on your phone’ applications, so again is a widely used and understood technology nowadays.

So what are the benefits for both customers and retailers?

1.     Access to deeper product information. Achieved either by QR codes or NFC, additional product information can be quickly accessed, helping customers to make an informed decision, right there and then. This results in a great customer experience and in higher in-store sales.

Let’s use the example of a BBQ to look into this further. When buying online, a customer might want to check the key specs (the materials it’s made from, accessories included etc), watch a video on setting it up and most importantly read some customer reviews. Doing this quickly at the shelf edge, means that they can purchase the BBQ that day, happy that they’ve made an informed decision.

2.     Better displayed information. In addition to accessing information dynamically via the electronic labels, customers can view more information directly on the label screen. One of the best applications of this is for product ratings, showing up-to-date Reviews and Social stats, just as you would via the eCommerce site.

3.     Increased member program sign ups. Showing tiered pricing on the screen, (standard price and a member price), along with a QR Code or NFC call to action, to sign up to the program, provides customers with quick access to a better price. Win win for all involved.

4.     Interactive experiences. For marketers creating a novel and engaging experience for customers in-store is difficult. But ESLs provide an opportunity for retailers to develop ways to interact with customers digitally, whilst in a brick-and-mortar store. For example, one of our bottle shop clients previously created a campaign where customers were greeted at the shop entrance by a digital screen. This asked them a couple of short questions, like what they would be eating with their wine, and then suggested specific bottles for them, highlighted via flashing lights on the ESLs themselves. A unique shopping experience, that no doubt got people talking, and buying! This idea works for a small store application but raises the question, what other ways can marketers leverage this in-store digital asset?

5.     More opportunity for promotions. Previously offers were highlighted via a few large promotional assets – window graphics, banners at the shop entrance and some shelf talkers on individual products. However, these had to be planned, designed, printed and installed in-store, an expensive and time-consuming process. But relying on Electronic Shelf Labels to communicate promotions, means that they can be rolled out very quickly and very inexpensively. This creates opportunity for more promotions, giving marketers the flexibility to leverage competitor reactive strategies, seasonal content, or rapid roll-out promotions based on sales performance or stock levels.

6.     Personalised communications. Personalised communication is a digital marketers holy grail, however, to date it’s been hard to deliver this to customers in-store. Marketing SMS triggered by beacons has been one way, driving customers in-store when they are in the radius of the shop. But ESLs offer so many more opportunities for a deeper, more personalised communication. By utilising NFC to trigger an action on the retailers’ app, you can open up a whole realm of opportunities. Including, loyalty offers, guided shopping, allergy alerts, recipe ideas, and even scan and check-out via your phone, but that’s another conversation altogether!

That concludes our deep dive series into the benefits of Electronic Shelf Labels, I hope that it’s been useful and insightful. Here at FutureShelf we offer Digital Pricing solutions to Australian retailers, integrating the solution into their existing systems, managing installation and support. For more information please do contact us or download a brochure.