Grocery is awakening to digital at the shelf edge.
In the ever-evolving grocery market, retailers face a challenge of integrating automation with customer-facing activities such as self-checkout and scanning. Digital tags have adapted to support operations and efficiencies without alienating customers.
In 2021, Pricer conducted research that concluded the majority of shoppers hold no misgivings over digital price tags. In fact, 65% indicated they would prefer more digital engagement where they can clearly inform themselves about the product through their mobile device.
Furthermore, store associates are looking to limit back-office tasks and increase front-office tasks through automation.
“By automating the pricing process, crucial time is freed up to work on value-adding activities, such as merchandising, replenishing stock, and assisting shoppers, along with improving staff satisfaction as more time is spent on the shop floor rather than in the back office for price and promotional changeovers.” says Michael Devlin, Head of IT at Musgrave Northern Ireland.
So how has grocery been reinventing the playbook on digital enablement at the shelf edge, and what’s next for grocery as they continue to adopt seamless digital-to-physical enablement?
Here are just 7 ways grocery retailers across the globe have implemented Pricer’s smart shelf solution to enhance their in-store experience:
1. 4-Color, Striking Paper-White Display
With best-in-industry displays, Pricer’s Electronic Shelf Labels provide near identical pixel density and resolution to their paper counterpart, while integrating simultaneously to all of grocery’s data—product, price, and virtually infinite data sources. And now, thanks to E Ink, 4 of the most commonly used colors in grocery shelf edge (Black, White, Red, and Yellow) are contrasted to emphasize and recreate information and images. Thanks to this innovation, merchants can ensure effective execution of campaigns and promotions.
2. Real-Time Price Changes
Pricer’s modern Electronic Shelf Label solution can automatically transmit price and product information across an entire store in real-time. At the click of a button, head office can control thousands of stores, ensuring centralized accuracy and enabling micro changes, optimized pricing, while freeing up store associate time to focus on crucial tasks and customers—saving up to one month of an associate’s working hours each year!
3. Flexible Tags for Flexible Scenarios
Traditional paper tags provide a basic, static amount of information. With Pricer’s PowerTAG solution, grocers can unlock the full potential of the shelf edge with groundbreaking access to multi-item product linking. Now, stores can link an entire endcap of products in startling 4-color display to provide key product information across all products associated on a shelf edge or section.
Stores such as Intermarche also utilize the additional simultaneous memory pages stored within each label, controlling information to display stock levels, reorder amounts, customer reviews, and additional warranty and promotional information.
4. Real-Time Product Position
With the power of infrared, Pricer’s labels don’t just receive pricing and product updates—they also send store-crucial information back to the system. Pricer updates product positions daily with zero manual intervention, seamlessly locating every product on a digital store map, ensuring planogram compliance. This enables stores like Metro Canada to optimize tasks like BOPIS, curbside, and click and collect, as well as enhancing the customer experience.
5. Better Operating With Flash
Order picking is becoming crucial and time-consuming for grocery stores. Each order can contain many items, often nearly identical versions and flavors of the same product, increasing the difficulty and frustration for full-time employee and freelance pickers.
Utilizing Pricer SmartFlash, it is possible to modernize the product picking process and secure accurate, data-driven speed increases. By prompting Pricer’s system, products can be flashed up to 7 distinguishable colors as multiple mobile users fulfil orders.
Through Pricer’s SmartFlash system, customers save themselves the hassle of locating tough-to-find products, and even the most efficient pickers can save 4 seconds or more on every pick decision, adding up to tens of thousands of savings over a year of work.
6. Boosting In-Store Experience
Pricer digital tags can enhance the customer experience at the shelf edge through both NFC or QR Code. By interacting with a mobile device, a user can have real-time visibility on stock and savings, allowing both customer and employees to see a kaleidoscope of information that’s traditionally only available through online shopping.
7. Camera Intelligence for High-Yield Stocking
Specialized AI has enabled a variety of use cases. Pricer Shelf Vision uses a sophisticated, wide-angle wireless camera with the Pricer solution to capture and communicate critical of information throughout the day.
Shelf Vision automatically detects Pricer digital tags, cataloging product stocking and gap detection, promotion and merchandizing compliance, and digital tag detection and position, all while ensuring customer privacy.
Thanks to Pricer’s industry-leading battery life and accurate Smart Shelf system, the possibilities are endless for grocery retailers. Are you interested in discussing with Pricer’s grocery experts how we can make these a reality in your stores? Reach out to us today!
By Joshua Nolan, Marketing Executive, Pricer
Originally published in Progressive Grocer in March 2022.
Published on March 28, 2022
