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Case study from MICROS - Londis Electronic Shelf Edge Labels



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“Imagine having the ability to instantly raise all of your prices between the hours of 10pm and 5am; the return on investment could be achieved in as little as 7 months!” Dee Sedani, Londis News R Us

Londis News R Us - an award-winning retailer

Londis News R Us, based in the heart of Etwall, Derbyshire, is one of two Londis stores owned by Dee Sedani, a prominent figure in the world of convenience retail. 

Londis Etwall is an important part of a close community; supporting local football teams, the WI and the nearby school. Dee’s entrepreneurial spirit has ensured that his business has become an essential part of the community, despite competition from nearby Tesco Express and Tesco Superstore. This is down to his constant drive to improve his store standards and the service he provides to his customers. To date Dee has won 47 industry Awards with his stores, the most recent at the Retail Industry Awards 2013.

Staying competitive with ESELs

Dee Sedani has always looked to technology to make sure that his business stays ahead of the competition. Dee immediately recognised the potential in Electronic Shelf Edge Labels (ESELs) and has worked in partnership with MICROS and Herberts to bring this exciting innovation to his store.

Distributed in the UK by Herberts, Electronic Shelf Edge Labels are the cutting edge in retail technology. MICROS Prism 2 now links seamlessly to ESEL Pricer software, enabling MICROS customers to make the most of this ground-breaking technology.

“Being a MICROS customer helps me keep up with the latest trends and innovations in retail technology...I can’t wait to see what the next Prism 2 Release has to offer!” Dee Sedani, Londis News R Us

Electronic Shelf Edge Labels drastically reduce the cost of printing paper labels and also save hours of staff time when distributing and applying updated labels. Additionally, and more importantly, ESELs offer enormous potential to increase revenue, profitability and competitive edge with flexible, responsive pricing opportunities.

As Dee explains, there are four main benefits to having ESELs in your store:

  • They make sure you aren’t breaking any legislation – every store must have correct labels next to the right products by law.
  • The prices are always correct, eliminating the previously common mistake where the paper labels and the tills say different things.
  • You can change prices whenever you want; for example when the weather is hot, you can raise the price of cold drinks; or conversely you can create happy hours where prices are temporarily lowered. In Dee’s store, Tuesday and Wednesday nights are happy hour on all wines excluding promotions.
  • Most importantly - price changes are no longer labour intensive – Dee personally saves 3 hours per week just on Londis Price Changes

The time saving element doesn’t stop there; not only do the ESELs save Dee’s time but also that of his staff – when prices change they don’t need to lift a finger; walking around the store manually changing labels is now a thing of the past. And the software is so easy to use that the training only took 20 minutes!

All retailers know that the key to staying ahead in this fast paced, highly competitive industry is profit margin. Any technology that saves a retailer time makes them more profit. ESELs are the ideal time saving technology.

Unique in the marketplace

MICROS Prism 2 integrates fully with the Pricer system which controls the ESELs. With industry leading functionality it is ahead of anything else in the market.

Price Band functionality in Prism 2 allows retail prices of selected items to be automatically changed at configurable times, meaning stores can premium price or discount at certain times of the day. The prices can be altered by percentage or by fixed amounts, and they can also be ‘rounded’ up or down to a selected number such as 9 pence. Where previously price changes would be recorded as a surcharge on receipts, in Prism 2 price changes cannot be observed by customers, either on the labels or on the receipts, ensuring a smooth transition when altering prices.

Price Bands can be selected at department, sub department, or individual item levels, and can be configured by time or date, making this functionality as flexible as possible and unique in the current marketplace.

Seamless simultaneous updates

Infrared transmitters are fitted discreetly around the store, which communicate directly with the back office PC and the ESELs, so that price changes are updated simultaneously, leaving no gaps for inconsistencies between the label display and the tills. The ESELs communicate back to the software confirming when they have been updated, notifying the retailer of the status of each label.

Dee says: “The labels can be configured however you want; details of promotions, images and even QR codes can all be displayed.”

The intelligent software knows not to let Promotions affect any price changes, for example if KitKats are 60p or 2 for a pound, when they go up during the evening to 65p they will still be 2 for a pound.

The ESELs come in various different sizes, and there are special freeze resistant labels for freezers. They clip onto special shelf edging strips, and though easily installed they cannot be moved or removed without the right tools, ensuring peace of mind – as Dee says: “They can’t be nicked!”

The labels are clear and easy to see, and can be enhanced with promotion hangers, drawing the customer’s eye to where you want it to be. According to POPAI, 76% of purchase decisions are made at the shelf edge and according to IDG 58% of shoppers are buying more on promotion since the start of 2012. The vital thing for retailers is to make sure their price labels are easy to see, easy to read and attention-grabbing, encouraging repeat purchases and customer retention. ESELs are an extremely effective way to do this.

Dee would recommend ESELs with MICROS Prism 2 Price Bands to any retailer: “Its click and go – you don’t have to th ink about it every day; once the Price Bands are set you don’t have to do a thing!” In particular he recognises the benefit to 24 hour sites: “Imagine having the ability to instantly raise all of your prices between the hours of 10pm and 5am; the return on investment could be achieved in as little as 7 months!"

“Beer, wine & spirits, tobacco, soft drinks, impulse, and snacks are the categories where you will really reap the benefits of being able to change prices instantly.” Dee Sedani, Londis News R Us

In a regular convenience store it is possible to start small at first; the integration of MICROS software with the Pricer ESEL system means that a retailer could test the technology in stages, starting with ESELs just on their top lines or departments, leaving the rest of the shop on normal labels, safe in the knowledge that all sales data will be processed as efficiently as ever through their Prism 2 Back Office system and Iridium 2 POS.

Dee’s top five categories to start off your store’s ESEL collection are: BWS (Beer Wine & Spirits), Tobacco, Soft Drinks, Impulse, and Snacks: “These are the ones where you will really reap the benefits of being able to change prices instantly.”

Dee is extremely impressed with his Electronic Shelf Edge Labels in conjunction with his MICROS Prism 2 system: “Being a MICROS customer helps me keep up with the latest trends and innovations in retail technology, and their constant investment in developing and updating their software means that my store can stay ahead of the competition and offer optimum service to my customers; I can’t wait to see what the next Prism 2 Release has to offer!”

Electronic Shelf Edge Labels are the future of retail technology; Dee is proud to be one of the first Convenience Store owners to embrace this exciting new technology, and would encourage his fellow retailers to look to the future and see where ESELs with MICROS Prism 2 can enhance their profitability to help their business grow.

Dee would encourage any MICROS customer thinking of introducing ESELs into their stores to come down to Londis Etwall News R Us and see them in action!

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