We all know the scenes on films and TV where the characters desperately (and sometimes humorously) try to find a turkey for Christmas dinner but find it being sold out everywhere. No retailer wants to contribute to this, so the stores are usually fully stocked for the Christmas feast.
The downside of that is food waste. While 22 million turkeys are eaten each year for Christmas in the US1, not so many on New Year’s Eve. So, stores want to balance the need for fully stacked shelves before Christmas, while avoiding having to waste remaining turkeys after Christmas.
The paradox can be found in our recent survey of European consumer habits. 60 percent of consumers state that they are much less likely to continue buy from a retailer who has missing items on the shelves. On the other hand, 70 percent of consumers expect their chosen grocer to be committed to reducing food waste.2
You can’t win them all, or can you? The fact of the matter is that Pricer has teamed up with partners to better manage inventory and reduce food waste. With dynamic pricing retailers can reduce food waste significantly. By using electronic shelf labels from Pricer, retailers systematically work to match demand, expiry date and selling price.
Partners are also using Pricer technology to pilot new solutions offering several price options to consumers, a cheaper price for items nearing expiration date and a more expensive price for the fresher product. These monetary incentives not only reduce food waste, but they also educate consumers on how most grocery store items are safe to eat near or even beyond their expiration date.
By using advanced technologies these solutions can work in a more dynamic way than standard procedures of making big price reductions just before expiry dates. By combining a smart expiration date management and analytics system with Pricer’s real-time ESL capabilities, Pricer can offer waste management solutions that minimize food waste and maximizes staff efficiency. With a waste management solution, retailers can spend up to 80% less time and reduce food waste with up to 40%.
We all love the odd Christmas movie and the chase around town to find the last turkey for dinner. But let’s keep it fiction and use technology to ensure there is enough for everyone and eliminate waste. For many of us, that would be the greatest gift of all!
- University of Illinois, https://web.extension.illinois.edu/turkey/turkey_facts.cfm
- Pricer consumer report
Published on December 22, 2021
