In a significant move towards technological advancement in retail, a leading UK supermarket has initiated a trial of electronic shelf-edge labels at its busy Manchester city centre convenience store.
The trial, lasting 12 weeks, aims to enhance in-store pricing efficiency. With the deployment of 3,000 electronic shelf labels (ESLs) across various product categories, staff can now update prices within 15 seconds. This swift capability is expected to streamline operations significantly.
Chris Walker, managing director of the convenience store division, expressed enthusiasm about the initiative, emphasising its potential to simplify store operations and provide valuable insights for future technology rollouts. This initiative follows a previous larger-scale test at a different location, indicating a strategic push towards modernising store processes.
The technology is facilitated by a collaboration with Vusion Group, a provider also partnered with major retailers like M&S and Morrisons. This trial places the retailer among a growing number of UK stores adopting ESLs, which are particularly popular in convenience and discount outlets. ESLs offer advantages such as centralised price management and reduced need for manual updates, along with the potential to display additional product information.
This trial represents a forward-thinking step in the retail sector’s evolution, leveraging technology to improve efficiency and customer experience. The outcome may well influence future strategies in wider store networks.
