Electronic Shelg Tags: Are they worth it?

 It has been a good 4 or 5 years since I last looked at digital or electronic shelf tags as a replacement for paper shelf tags.

I met last week with a electronic shelf tag vendor and was pretty impressed.

Not only has the cost come way down, but the capabilities of the latest generation of electronic shelf tags goes way beyond just showing the price.

Some cool things that I learned:

• battery life is 8 to 10 years
• they have a secure mounting to prevent theft or swapping of devices
• they come in a huge variety of sizes and mounting options for just about any retail stores needs
• you can sell ad space to suppliers
• you can even promote products and services like a loyalty program on the device
• you can get devices with blinking lights to help customers or even delivery drivers find the correct product
• integration to POS systems makes updating the devices a breeze

All in all, the ROI on the up front cost against labour savings, theft prevention, mislabeling of products, and advertising is around 6 to 12 months.

The ongoing monthly subscription is based on the number of devices so smaller retailers can benefit without paying as much as a larger retailer.

 I'm liking what I learned!

Contact me if you have real world feedback or interest in electronic shelf tags for your store: kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632

 

 

What makes for a great association?

 I've been blessed over the last 31 years to attend multiple retail and hospitality trade association events. Here are some tips on what makes for a great retail or hospitality trade association:

1. Active in politics to drive government change in favor of its members
2. Regular communication to its members
3. At least one annual event like a conference and trade show
4. Dedicated leadership
5. Focuses on one key niche (eg: garden centers, liquor stores, hotels, quick serve, etc)
6. Annual dues are scaled according to business size
7. Offers associate membersips so vendors and suppliers can offer discounts to association members
8. Vendor and supplier agnostic
9. Active social media presence and social media groups
10. Listens to their membership on "hot topics" and takes action

If you are not part of an association, then you are likely missing out - I've had some retailers complain about negative legislative changes. These same retailers refuse to be part of associations that could have prevented these legislative changes. 

Don't complain if you are not part of the solution!

I am working on a ranking of the associations that I am very familiar with - this will take a lot of time to compile all the data.

Hopefully the list above will at least give you a starting point.

Tops and suggestions for blog post and videos can be emailed to me at kevinantosh@gmail.com

 

Liquor Stores: Free Box Cutters at Booth # 949 at the TPSA Conference and Trade Show Today!

 Liquor Stores: are you at the largest liquor store conference and trade show in the United States? The Texas Package Store Association Conference and Trade Show is TODAY! Pick up a free box cutter at booth # 949 and learn more about the Cloud Retailer Liquor Store Profit System!