Page 272 - 34-3

How ESL Devices Transform into Connected Label Solutions: A Perspective of Actor Interaction and
Information Rebundling

4.3.3 Impacts
As ESL usage grows, other digital retail technologies provide excellent prospects
for efficiency gains. As an enabler for digital innovation, ESL provides a foundation
allowing a variety of IoT devices, including shopping applications, smart trolleys, non-

contact checkout kiosks, in-store marketing screens, robots for shelf monitoring, and AI
cameras. These digital solutions offer numerous advantages, such as decreased operational
expenses, improved shopping convenience, and a solid omnichannel strategy by creating a

“click and collect” concept.
The ESL innovation involves many actors engaging in the co-creation of new digital
solutions. ESL capabilities grow with more cloud-based service providers to replace the
existing push update mechanism at this stage. More advanced ESL solutions can increase
market demand for ESL implementation, expanding from only being based on one store to

more cloud-based service providers to replace the existing push updates mechanism. The
connectivity between retailers and their existing supply chain networks is also tightened
by ESL, ensuring real-time inventory control management.

Blending ESL with AI can create more sophisticated dynamic pricing by adding
indicators, such as weather data and competitors’ prices. This advancement requires more
data from other complementary sources. The Weather Bureau can provide an API to help
retailers collect weather forecast data, while some independent software developers offer a
price crawler to collect price data. AI-based dynamic pricing can also change how retailers

decide on pricing strategies through intelligent pricing mechanisms. Simon Jones, COO of
Store Intelligence, states that integrated and connected labeling solutions can deliver richer
information to product shelves: “I think we’re laying the foundation with Vantiq to use

newer technologies, faster chips within our ESLs, scaling up, being able to deliver more
information onto tags” (Vantiq Inc. and Jones, 2021).
The installation of the ESL and the evolution of this device have changed the business
models of retailers, enhanced by customers’ new value creation. ESL enables retailers to
adapt to a tech-savvy new retail ecosystem where data and analytics can accurately predict

the operational performance of products or systems and enhance the customer experience.
The feedback loops in the ecosystem become stronger as more actors join for value co-
creation, resulting in entirely new retail ecosystems.

262