Walmart is in the process of replacing the paper price labels with Electronic Shelf Labels having E Ink displays. The change, as Reuters stated, is being implemented across 2,300 of its stores in the US. It is being estimated to take around 2026 for the entire process to be completed. The retail giant operates 4,700 stores in the US.
With ESLs in place, things are going to be a lot easier for Walmart management as it is going to take just minutes for the staff to update the prices of the more than 120,000 items it offers in its stores. Similarly, weekly updates of the paper shelf labels which take around two days for store workers to complete can be accomplished in just about 2 minutes. All of it can be done via an app that would be made available to the relevant store operators attached to a particular segment.
Apart from the ease in updating the shelf labels, they have excellent visibility in the ambient light typically available in retail stores. In any case, ESLs look great even in direct sunlight. With support for bright colors, ESLs can be great for product promotions as those can be used to make a product to stand out from the rest. Workers will also find it easier to fulfill online orders with ESLs in place.
However, while ESLs can be great for implementing dynamic pricing strategies, Walmart has ruled out opting for such in any of its stores. That said, with ESL, the management will find it easy to introduce quick changes in pricing when needed easily and effectively without locking down any staff for the purpose.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
