How Have LED Shelf Price Tags Changed Retail Tech?

With the rapid advancement of technology, the retail industry is continually innovating, seeking more effective ways to attract customers, improve operational efficiency, and provide a superior shopping experience. Among these innovations, electronic shelf price tags have garnered significant attention, offering a range of key features that promise to reshape the retail landscape. In this article, we’ll discuss the development of e-paper and explore the main functions of electronic price tags, along with their impact on the retail industry.

The Development History of E-paper

E-paper is a special type of display technology that doesn’t emit light but instead relies on natural light reflection to form images. It can retain static images without consuming power, thanks to its bistable nature, which allows it to maintain the display even without a current.

Unlike traditional display technologies like LCD or OLED, e-paper does not create images by emitting light. Instead, it consists of tiny capsule-like particles spread across a plastic substrate, containing two or more types of differently colored nanoparticles. When an electric field is applied, these charged particles move, creating different colors and images.

Advantages of Electronic Price Tags

In the 21st century, as many large companies began entering the e-paper market, they accelerated the commercialization of e-paper technology. E-paper's market expanded beyond retail and into areas like smart wearables.

Traditional paper price tags can only display basic price information, while electronic price tags offer a much more comprehensive array of details. These include price, origin, grade, stock levels, promotional indicators, barcodes, and interactive QR codes. This allows consumers to easily access detailed product information, helping them make informed decisions while shopping.

Enhancing the Shopping Experience

Paper price tags are often prone to misplacement or falling off, causing inconvenience to customers. In contrast, electronic labels are securely fixed to the shelf, reducing the likelihood of misalignment or detachment, and preventing confusion between product and price. Furthermore, electronic price tags can verify data to prevent pricing errors or missed updates, ensuring price accuracy.

LED Notification Feature

Promotions are crucial for attracting customers, but promotional messages are sometimes not communicated effectively. Electronic price tags often feature LED lights that can serve as effective tools to highlight promotions. Once the electronic price tag is configured to the discounted product, the LED will blink, catching the shopper's attention and improving the impact of the promotion.

Convenient Item Location

Digital price labels can be linked to specific products, allowing staff to quickly locate products through the management platform by checking the electronic tags. This not only improves picking efficiency but also reduces manual display costs, which is especially important for large retail stores.

Temperature and Humidity Monitoring

In fresh produce sections, temperature and humidity fluctuations require close monitoring. Electronic price tags equipped with temperature and humidity sensors help administrators monitor environmental changes in real-time. If abnormal changes are detected, administrators can act promptly, preventing loss and ensuring product quality.

Online and Offline Integration

Electronic shelf price tags can display QR codes on the screen, acting as a bridge between online and offline product information. Consumers can scan the code to access online stores, facilitating seamless integration between online and offline retail channels.