Walmart store associates will no longer need to manually swap out thousands of paper tags.
Walmart is moving toward the future. The retailer recently announced the nationwide rollout of digital shelf tags to thousands of its locations.
The retail giant is replacing traditional paper price tags with electronic shelf labels (ESLs), a technology designed to streamline operations, reduce labor costs, and allow for near-instantaneous price updates across millions of products. The new system, developed in partnership with SES-imagotag, utilizes E-ink technology. The tech will display pricing and product information. By transitioning to a digital infrastructure, Walmart store associates will no longer need to manually swap out thousands of paper tags each week. The process was both time-consuming and prone to human error. Instead, price changes that once took days to implement across a store can now be completed in minutes, CNBC reported.
The implementation of digital tags is expected to change how Walmart manages its inventory and labor. Beyond simple price displays, the technology may have both advantages and drawbacks. By automating price changes, Walmart expects to free up thousands of hours of associate time, allowing staff to focus more on customer service. However, with the use of self-checkout kiosks, the need for more employees lessens.
Many retailers have replaced traditional registers with self-checkout. The technology is said to ensure that the price displayed on the shelf always matches the price at the register. Additionally, the tags can display real-time stock levels and “order by” dates directly on the shelf edge, helping managers identify supply chain gaps more quickly.
While the technology seems to benefit employees, the prospect of dynamic pricing raises concerns. Dynamic pricing is the practice of changing prices multiple times a day based on demand or time. This will allow retailers across the nation to raise prices in times of crisis if they so choose. Though Walmart executives have stated that the primary goal is efficiency and accuracy, they have not outright denied that dynamic pricing will also be utilized.
RELATED CONTENT: Major Retailers Are Charging Shoppers Return Fees For Purchased Items
Source: Black Enterprise
