Samsung’s Electro-Mechanics division (SEMCO) has today launched its electronic shelf labels (ESL) at the Customer Show in Melbourne, as part of an evolution in the way bricks and mortar retailers control information.
ESL allows retailers to wirelessly update shelving signage, and by doing away with paper labels, SEMCO said its ESL smart technology allows retailers to save on costs, increase productivity and improve business agility.
Jongmin Bae, president of overseas sales for SEMCO said Europe, Japan and Korea represented the major markets for this technology, and Australia was “a little bit behind.” He was confident that over the next one to two years electronic shelf labels would become more widespread in Australia.
“The demand is on the rise for Australian retailers, and our solution will make retail business much stronger through management innovation, intensifying competitiveness for the customer,” said Bae.
A central server sends information about each product to a gateway which transmits this data simultaneously to thousands of other tags.
For Australians the labels represent an opportunity to reduce labour costs, easily manage stock levels and tailor promotions Bae said.
“There is an obvious trend of customers first checking a product in an offline store and then buy the same one online – now with ESL technology, retailers are able to adjust product prices in real time, inviting online shoppers back to brick and mortar stores,” Bae said.
Last week at the Panasonic B2B product launch the potential use of security cameras for targeted marketing was raised.
The new Panasonic 6 Series security cameras, in conjunction with the WJ-NV200 recorder, can recognise age, gender and collect data, making it possible to market directly to customers based on which demographics are coming through the door at certain times.
In theory if retailer’s data showed a certain demographic entered the store during lunch time, electronic labels could readjust the prices on certain products as a direct marketing initiative.