How Are Retailers Enhancing Customer Experience through Electronic Shelf Labels?

In the preceding years, the North American region was the dominant user of ESLs, primarily on account of the largescale adoption of this technology among the expansive chains of retail stores, such as Wal-Mart. Additionally, the presence of favorable government initiatives facilitating the integration of automated products and encouraging technological developments across the retail sector also propels the adoption of ESLs in the U.S. and Canada. 

Owing to these reasons, North America will retain its dominant position in the upcoming years as well. Whereas, the European electronic shelf label market is expected to exhibit the fastest growth throughout the forecast period, owing to the existence of a strong retail sector and the existence of eminent market players in the region. 

Moreover, the extensive labor cost in European nations will also boost the demand for ESLs in stores and warehouses in the region. The large-scale adoption of ESLs in retail outlets and warehouses helps retailers in achieving higher productivity and efficiency by minimizing human intervention. The communication technology segment of the electronic shelf label market is categorized into near-field communication (NFC), radio frequency, infrared, and others. 

Among these, the NFC category is expected to demonstrate the fastest growth during the forecast years, because NFC-enabled ESLs allow contactless and rapid data transfer between devices. In recent years, NFC technology has become an additional feature in several point of sale (POS) devices and smartphones, owing to which NFC-enabled ELSs are being increasingly adopted in retail stores to ensure efficient operations.

Thus, the mounting focus of retailers on improved functional efficiency, on account of the rapid automation of the industry, is encouraging the adoption of ESLs across the world.