Digitalization of Retail Stores: ESL Price Tags as the Key to Transformation

When many retail enterprises undergo digital transformation, they tend to focus on optimizing and upgrading systems on the operational and management sides, such as back-end improvements in office management, procurement, warehousing and distribution, and personnel management systems. However, in the digital transformation of store operations, many companies often overlook the importance of digitizing price tag management. Yet, a small ESL price tag can become the "key" to solving the challenges of store and product management in retail enterprises.

Connecting Front-End and Back-End: Small Price Tags, Big Operations

ESL price tags, also known as Electronic Shelf Labels are electronic display devices equipped with information transmission and reception functions, mainly used in supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies, and other retail scenarios to display price information. Unlike traditional paper price tags, each ESL is connected to the store's computer database via Bluetooth or WiFi, and the latest product information is displayed on the screen of the ESL. ESLs successfully integrate store shelves into the retailer’s digital system, ensuring price consistency between the checkout counter and the shelves, while eliminating the need for manual price tag replacement.

In recent years, ESL price tags, with their advantages of quick price updates, intelligent price changes, wireless communication, and LED displays, have rapidly become a trend in the digitalization of store operations in the retail industry. Leading retailers, such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Yonghui Superstores, have begun large-scale deployment of ESL price tag products, propelling the industry into a phase of rapid development.

The key to their widespread adoption lies in the ability of ESL price tags to digitize product information and connect the entire product management process within the enterprise. They have become a critical link for improving operational efficiency, enhancing the shopping experience, and boosting store labor productivity. First, and most obviously, ESL price tags significantly reduce labor costs and time spent on manually changing price tags, especially during promotional seasons or large-scale seasonal product changes. Secondly, and most importantly, ESL price tags digitize product information, solving the challenges of product management at the store level.

Stability and Technological Advancement Are Equally Important

As the market for ESL price tags continues to grow rapidly, competition within the industry has become increasingly fierce. According to Zkong, a leading player in China’s ESL price tag industry, the electronic paper technology that current ESL price tag products rely on has entered a mature development phase. Future advancements will primarily focus on optimizing areas like full-color displays and power consumption.

"Future competition will likely take two main directions," Zkong predicts. "One is the development of products or services with higher added value based on ESL price tags, and the other is achieving a balance of technological innovation, customized services, and economic value in ESL price tags." At this point, first-mover advantage in the industry becomes crucial. Companies that entered the market early, have accumulated sufficient technical expertise, and have products whose stability has been tested by the market will be well-positioned to lead. Those who actively embrace and adopt new technologies and architectures, while continually upgrading and iterating their products, will become the ESL price tag providers that the market demands.

Zkong has been deeply involved in the wireless communication industry for 18 years and holds more than 220 domestic and international patents. With the establishment of its IoT R&D center, its continued exploration of smart retail solutions, and the iterative development of its products, Zkong has gained significant industry experience. Its ESL price tags have gradually become a benchmark for products and technology in the industry. As the world’s first company to develop cloud-based price tags, Zkong’s self-developed SaaS services help clients save time and costs associated with deploying local servers, enabling seamless scalability from 100,000 ESL price tags to over 1 million.

Notably, unlike many other manufacturers in the market, Zkong is one of the few technology companies with its own factory and comprehensive in-house R&D capabilities. Its factory features highly automated production lines, covering every stage from casing, SMT (surface-mount technology), assembly, to the production of electronic components for ESL price tags. The factory has an annual production value of RMB 1 billion. This level of self-sufficiency provides Zkong with multiple advantages, such as production autonomy and quality control, while also fully leveraging its in-house R&D capabilities and customized service offerings.

By combining stable, market-tested products with cutting-edge innovation, Zkong continues to lead the way in the ESL price tag industry, offering comprehensive, high-value solutions for the retail sector.