By More than a million retail establishments, including department stores, drug stores, supermarkets, discount stores, off-price stores, specialty stores, and e-commerce stores are currently running across the United States. These entities sell goods they buy from a manufacturer, wholesaler, or other distributors to the public with an added cost – markup.
As retail businesses earn profit by selling products to their customers, they must implement sales and marketing strategies, such as giving offerings and experiences distinctive from other retailers. These will help businesses nurture their relationship with their customers and encourage consumers to make a purchase, which will help stimulate revenue, increase product awareness, reinforce their brand message, and boost customer satisfaction.
However, in this digital era, many shoppers, especially the younger ones, prefer to shop online, the expectations for physical retail establishments have soared. Hence, to compete with the e-commerce market and remain competitive in the retail industry, businesses must leverage technology and transform customers’ commerce experience into something more unique and interactive.
Among the benefits of online shopping, which retail establishments do not have, is shops can show more relevant and more detailed information about their offered products. It allows consumers to know more about the goods they are about to buy. However, with the progression of technology, retail establishments can now employ the same feature of displaying comprehensive product information on their shelves.
Many retail stores are now using electronic shelf labels with digital price display. These help them manage and monitor multiple stores’ shelf-level pricing from a single location; hence, reducing the penalty from price discrepancies.
Moreover, a smart price tag shows product pricing and displays various media, which can be about the products, special event coupons, and advertisements. ESLs are essentially great equipment that conveniently provides customers more information about a product. Additionally, these electronic tags also have the ability to update product pricing and information, reducing the operational cost retailers spend when replacing paper tags.
Besides the electronic shelf label system, various retail establishments install security cameras, place shopping baskets and carts, and use POS systems and digital signages to make their customers’ journey a seamless and more personalized one. This infographic from SoluM discusses some of the essential equipment that will keep retail stores competitive in the industry.
