Costcutter retailer Peter Juty has transformed his Kent-based store into a competitive pricing destination after rolling out “lower prices than those found at Tesco Express stores”.
He has levelled up his electronic shelf-edge labelling system by using the tech as a marketing tool to promote the pricing strategy.
“We have a little logo on our electronic shelf labels that says the product is X amount cheaper than Tesco,” said Peter. “My customers look and think well actually this store is quite price competitive if its cheaper than Tesco.”
The label also displays the date the price was last compared with Tesco Express, as pictured above.
He pays a monthly fee to digital pricing company Market Hub and in return receives price comparison updates every three weeks.
Based on the regular results, the Ireland-based company would adjust the prices on Peter’s ESL system to ensure some lines are cheaper than those found at Tesco Express, Convenience Store understands.
When lines are found to be cheaper than Tesco, there would be no need for price adjustments, and the comparison would be displayed on the ESL.
Peter replaced paper labels with electronic ones back in 2020 when he recognised the urgent need to increase social distancing measures within his store.
He spent £35,000 on the tech with VusionGroup and said the investment paid back within 18 months. ”I got my money back on them because it reduced staff costs. People are scared to invest a huge sum at the beginning, but it doesn’t take that long to get back,” said Peter.
Just last month, the Co-op was the first major UK retailer to announce a full rollout of ESL with VusionGroup.
Surplus supermarket Company Shop, meanwhile, saw its labour productivity boosted by 5% after installing ESL across its entire estate.
“We decided to have it installed earlier than planned because of social distancing and not having to change the price every time a promotion came. It used to take two staff a whole day to change all the labels, now it’s done automatically,” said Peter.
With “constant promotions and fast price changes”, he said there was always one or two labels missed.
“A customer comes up and says the label shows £1.50, but your till is scanning at £2. With ESL, you don’t get that error or missed margin. Every delivery there’s a good 50 to 60 items where prices have changed and it used to be so time-consuming,” he said.
New to ESL, Londis retailer Nishi Patel wholeheartedly recommended the tech thanks to its boost in staff efficiency, price accuracy and cost-cutting.
He rolled out ESL three weeks ago after “massive price increases across the board had been tough to keep up with”.
“I have a piece of mind now knowing that the price has changed there and then. Sometimes shop life takes over and sometimes labels don’t get changed, so losing margins is a big issue.
“Even my employees have experienced abuse at the till point because a product scans differently to the label displayed,” said Nishi.
He explained the price of the tech is significantly cheaper than it was a few years ago.
For retailers looking to make the switch, he said: “You’re going to have more of your staff watching the shop floor and being more present and helping customers rather than spending two hours putting labels out because of the massive amount of price changes we’re having.
“It’s a breeze to change things and it’s easy to install. It just streamlines business more than anything.”
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