Electronic price tags

Are you the owner or "manager" of the outlet, be it a huge supermarket or a grocery store? In order to optimize and increase the efficiency of your business, reduce the routine of staff during rapid changes in pricing policies, as well as to provide timely and reliable alerts to consumers, your company is invited to switch to electronic price tags.

Electronic price tags are a small-sized screens that displays information about the product, its price, as well as other useful information, as on ordinary, usual paper price tags. In our country, until recently, the introduction of this system was hindered by legislative aspects and equipping it stores became eligible only in 2016.

Now on the Russian market there are electronic price tags, the diagonal of the screen of which ranges from 2 to 8 inches (this is approximately 3 to 20 cm). Small size price tags (two inch) are usually placed on the shelf next to the product, and displays of larger dimensions (7-8 inches or more) are usually placed above the product, on top, on a hanging ledge.

Previously, all the price tags had to be certified with the organization’s seal, the signature of the materially responsible person, and also had to be filled with stamp ink or black ink. For violation of these requirements followed by penalties. Currently, price information is allowed to be placed on any information medium that is visually convenient: slate boards, stands, light displays and electronic price tags. But you need to remember the limitation: you cannot use different types of price tags at the same outlet. That is, for example, it is unacceptable to establish 10 electronic price tags in the store, and leave the rest of the goods with paper ones. The seller must ensure, in accordance with the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor, the presence of clearly designed and uniform price tags for goods sold.

The principle of the ESL system

At the moment, the operation scheme of electronic price tags includes: a price tag, an information transfer complex, and management software located either in the "cloud" or on a network computer. They also use or can use activation terminals to work with electronic price tags. The necessary changes are made on the server of the company's central office and then sent to workstations (computers) located at retail outlets and from there by means of data channels installed in stores (this can be infrared or radio channel, or Wi-Fi), already on the price tags directly.

Target audience for the use of electronic price tags

This kind of technology can be fully used in chain stores that sell lots of identical goods (products, household appliances, and electronics).

It should be noted that electronic price tags are positioned not as a usual replacement for paper counterparts, but rather as a kind of tool for managing marketing assets. This is their payback. Therefore, they are simply unprofitable in places where they sell piece goods (copyright works, handicrafts). For the same reason, electronic price tags are not suitable for small stores with one or two cash desks, where a small assortment of goods, rarely there is a change of goods or prices, marketing campaigns are rarely carried out and are not provided for by the store’s policy at all.

Typical tasks for the use of electronic price tags of "Rusteсhnology"

First of all, the use of electronic price tags - it is convenient to centrally plan and manage the formation of prices and stocks on goods. Also - this is the control and updating of prices at points of sale. This implies automatic synchronization of prices in the store in real time. The efficiency of the processes of internal price approval at retail outlets and the possibility of a centralized replacement of the value of goods at several retail outlets are increasing.

The tasks that electronic price tags help solve:

• The ability for customers to learn more detailed price information themselves by scanning a barcode of the product they are interested in using a PDA or mobile phone.
• Saving working time of store personnel who are involved in the placement or replacement of paper media with price information. Depending on the size of the outlet, the resource is saved from 1 to 15-20 people (for example, replacing paper price tags with the entire range of goods in a store is a night shift for almost all staff).
• An important component is the aesthetics of the design of the trading floor of the store. Accurate displays are very effectively different from the usual, often confused, sometimes very worn and simply unreadable from long use, paper price tags.

Marketing promotions and customer loyalty

An additional opportunity of electronic price tags from the company "Rustechnology" is the optimality of organizing various trading shares - hourly, lot, typesetting. The list of the use of shares has become practically unlimited by anything, except perhaps by the capabilities of the cash program. Thanks to electronic price tags, it is possible to conduct immediate promotions, time-controlled shares (“Happy hours”), and stocks customized for certain events. Therefore, it becomes possible to conduct promotions much more often, to respond more quickly to changes in competitors' pricing. For example, if using traditional paper price tags does not reduce the price of a group of products after a competitor so quickly, with electronic price tags you get a qualitative and temporary advantage in competition with retail outlets that work with paper price carriers.

You can change the prices of goods within one day. As a result, a store repeating the steps of a competitor can reduce its (competitor's) profit from the promotion, as well as increase its own revenue from increased sales. Note that to start a promotion, a sufficient condition is to set a timer for the entry into force of a new offer. The electronic price tag will automatically inform consumers the required price at the specified time. We use modern technologies, due to which several information screens can be displayed simultaneously or sequentially on electronic price tags (for example, price dynamics for a given product - previous price / current price). In addition to the cost of a specified product, the electronic price tag can also visualize additional information about satellite products or the date of receipt of a new batch of goods.

Electronic price tags - this is the management of customer loyalty, which is achieved due to greater customer confidence by updating the prices of goods, facilitating the search for a promotional product, due to additional useful information on the price tag and other tools.

In addition, by attracting more buyers to participate in sales and other promotions, there is a system of special LED indicators that our electronic price tag models are equipped with, which can also become an additional tool for orienting a customer by a retail outlet, as well as stimulating an increase in purchases due to various typesetting or lot promotions.

Justified value and quick payback

What makes up the cost of introducing a system of using electronic price tags?

It’s not enough just to hang up price tags and buy equipment. Also needed in a certain amount of access points, accessories in the form of a variety of fasteners, graphic frame removers. Requires management software. The cost of the entire system may also include the provision of services, for example, setting the price tag interface, setting fields, setting barcodes to be displayed, graphics, setting up access points, operational work on transferring information from the customer’s accounting system, that is, your system to the EPT control software, also the harmonization of the form and, all this is provided by the company "Rustechnology". And of course, a specialist’s trip to launch the facility and to deploy the entire system.

Often you want to see the return on our investments today or at least within one year, so you need to describe the payback periods of the entire EPT system. As already mentioned, their payback will be composed of many factors, including reducing the loss of the store due to the buyer’s refusal of the goods, for example, because the price at the checkout is not relevant and does not coincide with the price indicated on the price tag. Well, due to the course of attracting new buyers by organizing new types of shares. Thus, we can say that it all depends on the completeness of the use of EPT. The declared payback is from 4 to 5 years for those who set new price tags as a simple replacement for paper ones and 2-3 years for stores that actively use all their marketing advantages.

Types of electronic price tags

What types of electronic price tags do manufacturers on the territory of the Russian Federation offer today?

They can vary by type of information placement - segment or graphic:

• Segment price tags. Information on some given template is loaded onto their screens. For example, the format of the price is in rubles with kopecks, so the type and amount of information that you can upload to them is somewhat limited.
• Graphic, more modern, more convenient. One price tag can even contain information on several products and even use highlighting. The graphic display of such price tags is capable of storing information for as long as you like, even when the power is off. The energy of the batteries is consumed only to change the information on the price tags, therefore, the batteries usually last from 3 to 7 years. Each price tag from the company Rustekhnologiya has a built-in memory that allows you to view on it, using the "scroll" all the data entered. For this, either a special remote control or a corresponding button is provided, which is located directly on the price tag case.

Also, the price tags differ in the type of screen. It can be:

• LCD , that is, a standard liquid crystal display, this technology has long been familiar to everyone, so it’s not necessary to go into details.
• EPD, E-ink Electrical Paper Display or better known as electronic ink. These are the price tags that "Rustechnology" company deals with. These displays have the technology of these same electronic inks and those who use “readers” that are equipped with similar displays understand what is at stake. Such displays are capable of showing any image, and it can be read even in reflected light, usually there is no backlight, but the viewing angle is almost 180 degrees, they look very much like real paper, it consumes electricity only when changing the image.
• Another type is magnetic paper - the system does not need electric power, which is its plus, it has a very attractive competitive price, but there are limitations. First of all, in graphic design and in the fact that each price tag has to be updated individually.

By the method of transmitting information, electronic price tags are divided into:

• Infrared. The main plus is the relatively low price. There are also disadvantages: if any obstacle appears on the way from the infrared emitter to the electronic price tag, the information on the price tag will simply cease to be updated. In addition, in such displays there is no possibility of feedback. In other words, you will not be sure of relevance. Transmitter modules can be mounted in any place convenient for you, and not directly above the price tags themselves, as is the case with infrared. Data is transmitted via a secure radio channel; in addition, direct visibility is completely optional for transmitting information; the range of frequencies used may vary (depending on manufacturers and requirements). The disadvantages of this method of information exchange can also be attributed to the lack of feedback.
• Wi-Fi. Benefits - when installing such price tags, you can use the existing Wi-Fi structure of the store; only this type of price tag provides feedback after the transfer of information, which means it guarantees you the relevance of price information on the trading floor. The disadvantages include the higher cost of such electronic price tags.

The display size of electronic price tags varies from 1.5 to 8 inches. Price tags are also ordinary and frost-resistant, with the presence or absence of LED indicators.

The advantages of our electronic price tags

• Energy efficient technology - “electronic ink”.
• Autonomous work - 5 years (when the price changes up to 4 times a day).
• Various sizes: 1,62 "-2,2" -2,9 "-4,2", 2 and 3 color displays.
• They are equipped with various mountings depending on the shelving shelves used.
• Feedback from the price tag. The status of active price tags is always visible.
• Training of specialists of the Customer. Free software, open source, scaling around the world, the ability to connect to CRM product suppliers.
• Management of an integrated system using data collection terminals.
• One base station - an active radius of 400 meters, support for up to 2500 price tags per base station.
• Implementation of marketing technology in retail iBeacon helps to notify potential and real customers that there is a product or service nearby. The smartphone or tablet must contain a special mobile application and Bluetooth enabled on the same device. When a person enters the coverage area of a bluetooth beacon, a push notification is sent to a mobile device about ongoing promotions, sales and discounts on goods.

Our EPTs are ideal for a network of retail or wholesale stores that sell non-piece goods and are interested in centralized planning of pricing and stock management. Interested in point control of prices and their timely updating. Electronic price tags from the company "Rustechnology" can become an indispensable tool and justify all investments in them, insofar as they allow you to increase the profit of your business by introducing new marketing campaigns, attracting more new customers and increasing the loyalty of your regular customers.

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