From Paper to Pixels: Lessons from Implementing Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) in a UK Store

Have you ever wondered how to accurately measure the benefits of implementing Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL)? If so, here are some concrete figures that will dispel any doubts.

A Store with an Annual Turnover of £6-7 Million – Is ESL Worth It?

I recently met with the owner of a store in the UK with an annual turnover of £6-7 million. His question was simple: “Why do I need ESL? Show me the exact numbers.”

At first, I presented the standard benefits:

• Fast price updates – no need for manual label replacement
• No risk of errors – shelf prices always match the system
• Employee time savings

But the client wanted more – hard data from his store. And that’s exactly what we provided.

Data Analysis – 58,000 items received in 2024 and nearly 100,000 selling price changes

After a thorough analysis conducted together with our data science experts, we utilised advanced ML tools and automated data extraction systems. We uncovered several key insights:

2024 Data Insights:

• 58,000 items received into stock
• 25,400 products (44%) had an increased purchase price.
• Of these 25,400 → only 5,200 were unique SKUs.
• 2,300 products had their prices changed more than three times a year.

First Conclusion:

The last point from the above analysis already indicates that purchasing 2,300 ESL labels would solve 80% of price update issues, rather than implementing ESL across the entire product range.

But we delved even deeper into the data.

How Much Does Manual Price Updating Cost? Let’s look at the following calculation:

Each price change requires manual printing and label replacement. Let’s assume that replacing a single label takes 1 minute. This results in:

• 25,400 minutes / 60 / 12 months = 35.2 hours per month
• The gross cost of an employee in the store is £18/hour, which amounts to £7,620 per year.
  (And that’s just the labour cost!)

Additional Hidden Costs:

• Materials (paper, printer, disposal)
• Labelling errors
• Delays in price updates
• Training and audits
• Potential loss of sales

And that’s just the cost of price updates… But what about margin management errors?

Another Key Insight from Data Analysis: Failure to Update Selling Prices – £11,300 Lost Annually!

Further analysis revealed an unexpected issue. We checked whether employees updated selling prices after purchase price changes.

19% of received stock (PZ) with increased purchase prices did not have their selling prices updated.
The result? The store lost £11,300 solely due to unchanged selling prices when costs increased.

Why Did This Happen? We Asked the Employees, and Here’s What They Said:

• “A few pence don’t make a difference, and updating labels is extra work.”
• “We don’t have time to analyse every price increase.”

Meanwhile, £11,300 in lost profit per year is real money that could have stayed in the store’s cash register!

Summary of Price Management Losses in 2024:

Employee cost for price label updates: £7,620
Lost profit due to unchanged prices: £11,300
Total cost: £18,920 per year!

Moreover, these costs could be even higher if we factor in pricing errors and delays.

ESL – Not an Expense, but an Investment with a Fast Return!

Now you see why Electronic Shelf Labels are not just about saving time, but also about protecting margins and eliminating human errors.

Our client, after seeing the hard data, decisively chose to implement the system. As a result:

• Reduced staff workload – price updates now happen automatically.
• Eliminated labelling errors.
• Gained control over margins and dynamic pricing.

And you? Can you afford to ignore such losses?

If you run a store and want to see how ESL can benefit your business, contact us. We’ll conduct an analysis for you and provide real numbers!