February 18, 2025 • 42 mins
Unlock the future of retail with our insightful Digital Front Door discussion featuring Alex Walderman and Tim McCracken from the Solum Group.
Discover how electronic shelf labels are reshaping the shopping landscape by bridging the gap between physical and digital retail experiences.
From operational efficiencies to enhanced customer engagement, Tim, Alex and host Scott Benedict explore the multifaceted benefits of ESL technology and how it serves as a dynamic tool for retailers looking to innovate and excel.
Join us the trio uncover the revolutionary applications of ESLs beyond mere price displays. Imagine a world where grocery shopping is seamless, with digital signage guiding your decisions and personalized offers enhancing your journey.
Alex and Tim walk us through the integration of ESLs with retail media strategies, showcasing how this technology personalizes shopping experiences and strengthens consumer relationships. They delve into real-world scenarios where ESLs transform the decision-making process, linking online browsing habits with in-store purchases.
Furthermore, we journey into the broader implications of personalization technology across industries such as automotive and healthcare. Learn how ESLs guide customers to specific products and simplify inventory management in hospitals, promoting efficiency and satisfaction.
The conversation highlights the evolving landscape of retail, emphasizing the potential for collaborative innovation as the industry continues to unveil new business benefits and opportunities for growth. Join Doing Business in Bentonville and the Digital Front Door series to uncover how ESLs are not only changing retail but potentially every sector they touch.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Digital Front
Door.
I'm Scott Benedict.
Many times, when we talk aboutthe evolution of omni-channel
retailing, our first thoughtsrun towards enhancements to a
retailer's website, to theirmobile app, to the store pickup
or delivery, elements that arecontinuing to see innovation or
(00:29):
improvements.
It seems like with everypassing week Now to be certain,
these aspects of the technologyinvestments and the process
improvements that retailers aremaking are bringing benefits of
anywhere, anytime shopping tolife for consumers to a greater
degree, and they're doing soreally at a blistering pace.
(00:51):
However, there is one area ofdigitally enabled shopping that
I believe does not have thefocus it should consistently
across the retail community,whether that's here in the US or
in other retail markets aroundthe world, and that is the
technology related to electronicshelf labels.
(01:12):
Now, many in our industry viewESL technology as an in-store
only technology innovation.
However, the role that thistechnology plays as a connective
element of both physical anddigital retail is just beginning
to emerge in ways that are bothexciting for the retailer, for
(01:34):
the store associate and frontlines and, ultimately, for
consumers.
More about this excitingtechnology.
I thought we could tap into theexpertise of two leaders from a
firm that is at the forefront ofthis emerging and very exciting
technology.
The Solemn Group is an excitingand innovative firm that was
(01:55):
the result of a spinoff fromSamsung's Electromagnetics
Division, and they have officesnot only in Seoul Korea division
, and they have offices not onlyin Seoul Korea Frankfurt,
germany and here in New YorkCity in the United States, and
we're excited to have twoleaders from that organization
join us today.
First is Alex Walderman.
Alex serves as the Director ofBusiness Development for Solem
(02:20):
in Toronto.
He works with a number ofCanadian retailers and Alex
joins us today from his officejust outside of Toronto.
So hello, alex.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Hello.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Scott, Thanks for having us.
You bet we're also joined byTim McCracken.
Tim serves as the VicePresident of Sales for SoLum and
Tim joins us from his office inthe Dallas-Fort Worth area.
And Tim, thank you for joiningus as well.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Absolutely.
Thank you, Scott.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
All right.
So we've got a little bit of aninternational element, and
certainly a multi-locationelement, to our episode today,
so I'm excited to have both ofyou join and talk a little bit
about this.
Join and talk a little bitabout this, alex, let me come to
you first and for the benefitof our audience who may be there
(03:10):
may be people who are not asfamiliar with ESL technology
Could you really kind of beginour conversation today by
defining what digital storesignage is broadly and maybe a
little bit about electronicshelf labels in particular.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Definitely for sure.
So digital signage and ESLelectronic shelf labels are two
key elements that make up thein-store solution, which is very
much connected.
So for many, many years nowwe've seen, as we've all gone
out into the world, shopping,digital signage, communicating
(03:47):
advertising, promotionalmessaging and helping guide
shoppers through the space tohelp them fill their cart with
the right products based on whatthey need.
But what's newer and what we'respreading far and wide and
helping retailers implementeffectively is ESL electronic
shelf labels, in other words,digital price tags, and so what
(04:09):
it does is it enables retailersto be much more operationally
efficient in managing not onlythe price point but the other
elements related to eachindividual product that they
need to communicate at shelflevel, which could differ by
industry, to calorie count infood locations, to expiry dates,
(04:29):
to pricing, to bulk pricing, todeal types for certain
retailers that have a weeklyspecial versus stock up savings.
And the magic really in whatwe've been really bringing
retailers and what they'reexcited about is the connection
between digital price tags, eslelectronic shelf labels and
(04:51):
digital signage to tell aintegrated story and allow
shoppers to get a message onscreen and connect it to what's
on shelf in real time and evenhave a connected experience to
what that shopper may have seenout of store that drove them
into the store in the firstplace.
And then we close the deal, soto speak, with signage and price
(05:14):
tags in store.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That is so neat.
I look forward to kind ofdiving into that a little bit
deeper.
But I think one of the things,Tim, I wanted to kind of pose
the question to you.
I know, kind of at thebeginning of the conversation or
the thought process on the partof a lot of retailers as
they're considering the businesscase for implementing ESL
(05:39):
technologies, what do you andthe team kind of suggest are the
most important considerationsin evaluating kind of the return
on investment for a technologysolution like what Solum and
your team do?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, no, it's a great question, Scott.
So I would say that there areseveral considerations that
retailers explore, I would say,the first being which department
should we deploy these in?
Does it make sense to deployESL in the apparel department if
all of apparel in our storecomes to us pre-tagged with a
(06:19):
price tag on it?
Or does it make sense to deployonly in a few key departments
within that particular retailerand then maybe scale on an
as-needed basis throughout thestore?
So many retailers that we speakwith are reviewing that on a
frequent basis prior to makingtheir decision.
(06:41):
I would say.
Another consideration is howmany stores to deploy at once.
Do we want to do 20 stores thisyear or do we want to do we
want to try to get all 180stores that we have up and
running this year because ofthat return on investment that
many of our retailers are seeingin only 18 months that we have
(07:06):
deployed our particularsolutions to.
So once they maybe theyinitially thought we would roll
out 20 stores they quicklyrealized that ROI, and then
there's like a mad dash to thefinish how do we get all the
rest of the stores up andrunning with ESL technology and
digital signage as soon aspossible.
So I think that what retailersare discovering is that it's
(07:31):
really not about eliminatingheadcount per se.
When people traditionally thinkabout ESL, the assumption is
well, how do we reduce costs asit relates to headcount?
But I think what our customersare seeing is that actually it's
not really about reducingpeople, but reallocating that
(07:53):
labor elsewhere within the storeto help improve overall
productivity and then, obviously, bottom line results.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yes, I imagine also being able to put some staff on
customer facing activities wherethey're actually helping a
customer instead of being stuckdoing other less customer facing
type work.
Absolutely yeah.
So, alex, when a retailer isconsidering an ESL solution, I'm
(08:27):
kind of guessing that you don'tsuggest that they go store wide
or chain wide excuse me rightaway that they start with a
group of pilot stores.
Is that accurate?
How do you help retailers kindof decide how to get started
with a pilot?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Yeah, it's complicated, so we try to help
guide them, as we've done this.
Like you said earlier, we havepresence globally.
We've done this globally formany retailers in many
industries, so it's not chainwide from day one.
Retailers rightly so want totest this, maybe in one area of
(09:06):
the store, like Kim suggested,and that could be driven by a
number of factors.
But they want to test it insome fashion, see how it
performs, see the benefits andthen maybe deploy to more stores
in those departments that theystarted, or maybe spread it
across that one or two or threestores that they're testing
before deploying elsewhere.
(09:27):
But what we often find is that,yeah, of course, like most
things, you start small, you seehow it goes and you grow it
from there.
But to Tim's point earlier,several of our clients have
found that they've estimated Xtime for ROI and planned
accordingly, but then said, ohmy God, we're seeing more than
(09:47):
we thought quicker.
How do we get this out to morestores faster?
And we've seen the problem onour end, which we're happy to
solve and have solved like athuge scale, is our clients tried
this.
They love it so much, they needso many tags so quickly.
How do we get this to them.
And that's when we go home andtell the team you know, turn
(10:09):
that 24-hour clock on, becausewe've got to make some more of
these, I'll bet that's awonderful problem to have.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Yes, retailers are facing so many investment
decisions on what technology toinvest in and how to go quick
enough but not too quick, thatwhen you have examples where it
turns out the pilot worked outso great that the retailer wants
to accelerate.
What a wonderful problem tohave in such a fast-paced
(10:42):
environment.
Tim, I'm curious.
You know, it seems like one ofthe obvious business benefits of
ESL technology is something youtouched on earlier labor
savings as it relates tochanging or updating signage.
But I want to go a little bitdeeper on that.
(11:03):
I would imagine, certainly asyou all have educated me on your
industry, there's a lot morebusiness benefit that stems from
ESL technology than just thelabor savings of updating or
changing signs.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Absolutely so.
When we meet with potentialcustomers exploring ESL as an
option, they're often shocked towhat they initially think are
going to be saved labor costs.
(11:48):
But again, as we said earlier,they find very quickly that they
can reroute their existinglabor in other areas of the
store to increase productivity.
But then they're astounded tolearn that the ESL, or
electronic shelf label, canassist with things like
inventory notification,replacing empty shelf space on
(12:09):
the floor, order picking, postpandemic or even during the
pandemic, you know, a lot ofpeople were not able to shop or
were afraid to shop.
So online ordering really got ajumpstart and a kickstart that
hasn't stopped.
So retailers are faced withchallenges as it relates to
(12:36):
fulfilling online orders and howdo we fulfill those faster?
The faster we can fulfill thatorder, the more revenue we're
going to be able to take in onan hourly basis.
Wayfinding is anothercapability that people will
utilize, both digital signageand DSL for more information and
(12:56):
so much more.
Retailers are now learning thatwe can help them improve both
revenue and decrease their costssimultaneously, which is really
exciting for them.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I'm your person, wait .
So I mean just to follow up onthat.
That's where the sign can helpsomeone with a mobile device
find the location of aparticular item or a particular
category in that particularstore.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Is that right?
That is correct.
If I'm looking for a certaintype of shampoo and I need to
know where to go within thestore, using the app that maybe
that store already hasincorporated or embedded into
their mobile applications, itwould allow me to essentially
say okay, I need to go straightand to the left, and then, once
(13:44):
I get to that aisle, I couldeven hit a button and it would
then light up the tag to show meexactly the precise location of
where that item is on the shelf.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
That is so neat, alex .
One of the things that Tim justtouched on was the fact that
ESLs can help make the storeassociate more efficient as they
are picking store pickup ordersor delivery orders.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthat, maybe go a level deeper
(14:16):
and talk about how yourtechnology enables that process
to be a little bit moreefficient and easier for the
store associate.
To finish, sure A hundredpercent.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Well, let me open with a story of I started with
Solium about a year ago andbefore I even joined I visited
some stores that have it and,without revealing where I'm
coming to work, I kind of askedhow's this going?
Our technology that their storepickers in a grocery chain can
(14:53):
now pick three times in thiscase the number of carts per
hour, because our ESLs arecommunicating with those pickers
phones and saying here'sScott's order, look for the
purple blinking tags in aisletwo, nine and 11, and go pick
this order for Scott.
And now that picker cannavigate the store and find the
(15:16):
product so much quicker thathe's able to do from three carts
an hour to between seven andnine is what I was told at that
time.
And think of the revenue thatthat is generating for these
stores when they use thistechnology for these associates
In this case the associate is apicker fulfilling online orders
Two to three times the amount ofcarts that this person is
(15:40):
fulfilling per hour.
Unbelievable staff that Ilearned and I validated that
through multiple sources, sinceI've been doing this over the
past while, and it's reallyunbelievable.
Validated that through multiplesources, since I've been doing
this over the past while, andit's really unbelievable.
And that's the kind of thingthat leads retailers to come
back to us and say how many ofthese can you make?
Because we said 50 stores nextyear, but now we want 100 of
(16:01):
them Because the ROI is there.
And that's just one example.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Yeah, I would imagine that that process, which is so
labor intensive, gets so mucheasier, so much faster.
Quite frankly, a lot moreenjoyable, I would assume, for
the store associate to havethose lighting lit up ESLs that
help direct them to the item andmake that process so much more
efficient and easier for them todo right 100%.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And there's more benefits too, even outside of
fulfilling online carts, whencustomers are trying to find a
product.
Like Tim shared the shampootype example earlier, imagine a
shopper now going to anassociate who can find things
more easily in the storenavigate himself to help the
(16:49):
shopper find it more easily.
And then also again, scott.
We've chatted before about themagic of in-store communications
and in-store marketing,upselling shoppers and getting
them to put more in their basket.
The connection of these tags,between the tag and digital
signage is one thing.
To help motivate the shopper tofind the right products and
(17:12):
maybe add a complimentaryproduct on and guide them to
that art show.
It also goes to the associate,where the associate can now
search based on what he needs.
To help the shopper with andget additional pop-ups that help
him sell more effectively tothe shopper.
To upsell, build baskets,generate revenue and look
helpful to the shopper.
To upsell, build baskets,generate revenue and look
(17:33):
helpful to the shopper.
And what a better use of thatin-store staff than swapping
tags or signs.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
No, that is so neat.
This is a way in whichtechnology is enabling not only
a more efficient retailexperience, but a much more
enjoyable one and a more,perhaps solution-based approach
for the customer, because wehelp them find everything that
they're looking for and do itreally efficiently.
Yeah, yeah, and that leads meto kind of my next question for
(18:07):
you Beyond the individual shelflabels for an individual product
, are there other roles digitalsignage can play in other areas
or other aspects of the retailshopping experience either
directional signage ordepartment signage.
What other roles can yourtechnology plot?
Speaker 3 (18:30):
That's an excellent question.
So, essentially, customers aredelighted to learn that we are
more than just an electronicshelf label manufacturer.
We are also in the digitalsignage space and one of the
exciting things that's happeningin our industry is having the
(18:50):
ability to integrate theirelectronic shelf labels into a
traditional 55, 65 or 75 inchdisplay, for example.
So what do I mean by that?
So, for example, let's say thata customer is at a grocery
store, or you're a customer at agrocery store and you're
wanting to select a certainbottle of wine.
(19:13):
You walk up to one of ourdisplays and you can say, okay,
I'm looking for a red bottle ofwine, then I want it to be extra
dry, maybe an internationalselection, etc.
And, narrowing down thatcriteria, hit a button on that
display that then lights up aseries of tags that just went
(19:36):
from thousands, literallythousands of bottles to choose
from in that grocery store tomaybe three.
These three fit the criteriathat you were looking for.
So in a matter of seconds, theelectronic shelf labels will
light up.
Narrowing down that focus foryou as the shopper and even more
(19:57):
exciting is okay.
So now you've narrowed downthat focus to three bottles.
Which one should I select?
Well, this particular bottleusing the ESL may have a little
message on it saying select thebutton underneath the tag for
more information.
So let's say you did that, youselect the, you press the button
(20:17):
on the tag.
Well, right above the shelfthere might be another 55-inch
display that will then play a45-second commercial telling you
a little bit of informationabout where the wine originated
from, where the vineyard, moreinformation about the vineyard
or the certain types of grapesthat they use, or whatever.
That allows you to immediatelybecome connected with the
(20:44):
product and even gives you astory for your dinner party that
you're throwing that evening interms of your shopping
experience, combined with whatyou learned about this
particular bottle of wine.
So I think this capability isreally a game changer, is what
we're seeing, as it relates tohelping the customer make the
right choice based on theircriteria while at the same time,
(21:08):
enhancing the customerexperience in the store.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
That is really exciting, I think.
For someone like myself whocame out of the consumer
electronics business, where wewere always taught to focus on
solution selling, onunderstanding what a customer
needed and trying to solve itnot just with one product but a
whole solution, it feels likeyour technology really is an
enabler in those scenarios.
You gave in the wine example ofbringing that to life, but
(21:36):
doing so in a very efficient,cost-effective way.
Right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, and the solution is the key word,
honestly, that these ideas oftencome up based on us our clients
telling us challenges they'rehaving, and we go back and build
these solutions or find outways to use the technology and
often clients come to us with.
Wouldn't it be great if wecould use this this way?
(22:04):
That way?
We love collaborating withclients.
Some of the best ideas happenthat way, by figuring out what
challenges are your shoppersfacing.
Here's how you can use ourtechnology to help overcome it.
Or you can't use our technologyto overcome it today, but let
me take that back.
And then we go back to the laband figure out how to make it
(22:25):
happen, and we've done this somany times that that's what gets
our team excited and keeps usall pumped to keep growing our
capabilities is because we'rehelping retailers solve
challenges, so much that.
And then you tie that back tothe ROI we talked about before.
This is how they see it so muchfaster because it doesn't just
(22:47):
do one thing, it's not a digitalprice, it's so much more.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
That is, I think, one of the least understood aspects
.
My perception is of yourindustry and of your solution is
it does more than one thing itsolves many business challenges
and enhances the customerexperience.
And, alex, that brings me toone other area that I suspect
(23:14):
your technology is beginning toaddress.
That relates to retail media,and it's obviously one of the
fastest growing elements ofomni-channel retail.
But most of the benefits ofretail media marketing stem from
the online experience, helpinga consumer find what they're
looking for when they're doing asearch or browsing online.
(23:37):
Is there a way that digitalsignage can now help retail
media campaigns come to life ina physical store as well?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
store as well.
Well, scott, from our pastchats, of course this is the
perfect topic for me to talkabout with you.
Of course, yes, retail mediaagain, being a marketer at Art
and coming up in the retailmarketing world myself for 12
plus years that online searchcriteria that you just mentioned
is now connected to the store.
It's not that it's mimicked orthat there's now a version.
(24:19):
In the store, the shopper is aperson.
We all see things on our phone,see things on TV or a billboard
and put it on a list or takenote and build our lists or
menus for groceries for thefollowing week in real time, and
we don't just shop online orjust shop in store.
It's a combination.
So what this connected systemthat we're bringing into the
(24:43):
stores of ESL, electronic shelflabels, digital signage, other
technologies that integrate thestore experience with the online
experience what that does is itallows the shopper to continue
their shopping journey from whatthey did at home or on the
phone into the store and itallows them to truly continue
(25:05):
that from when they maybe builda list on their phone to when
they come into the store and howthese elements, like an app,
for example, for a grocery chain, is connected now to the store
and they can communicate in atwo-way fashion with the
displays to help them find whatthey're looking for or trigger
deals in store that arecustomized, personalized to the
(25:30):
shopper, based on his habits orher habits.
That's where this is all goingand in some ways, many ways,
it's already there that we areenabling the retailer to give
the shopper a truly personalizedexperience.
And, to your point on retailmedia.
This is opportunity forretailers to bring their CPG
(25:54):
consumer packaged goods productpartners unbelievable
opportunities to connect withtheir shoppers in very
personalized ways, based on pastpurchase habit, what they've
searched and now they're instore.
How do we close the sale loopand get them to put my product
in their basket?
This is now all possible byconnecting what happened at home
(26:19):
to what happened in storethrough our electronic shelf
labels, digital signage and,with the wisest retailers, them
connecting these systems withour assistants and then bringing
those opportunities to the CPGconsumer packaged goods, cokes,
pepsis, other brands of theworld.
So they want to get on board,to your point on a retail
(26:42):
meeting and create an experiencefor their brand that they could
not otherwise create.
Yesterday they were buying anin-store 15-second ad on a
digital sign.
Today.
It's a holistic full cycleexperience.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
And it feels like all three of us have been tying
back to this whole concept ofthe ROI, of the technology.
And if you bring a retail mediaelement to it, the ROI equation
gets a whole lot more favorable, a whole lot quicker.
I would imagine yeah, 100%.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
So, tim, I mentioned earlier that I'm from a consumer
electronics background and oneof our major electronics
retailers recently remodeledtheir store here locally in
northwest Arkansas andimplemented kind of a
second-generation ESL solutionwhere there is a QR code element
(27:38):
on the digital sign that whenyou pull out your phone and scan
that QR code, it immediatelytakes the consumer to that
product's item detail page ontheir website and in the case of
a consumer electronics producta little bit more complex
product, in the case of aconsumer electronics product a
(28:00):
little bit more complex productit really creates kind of an
end-to-end research before youbuy scenario Is this printer ink
compatible with my printer?
Is this TV ideal for the roomthat I want to use that in?
What is the benefit for theconsumer and for the retailer of
this kind of omni-channelaspect of ESL?
Speaker 3 (28:20):
technology?
Absolutely so.
The immediate benefit for theconsumer is information.
They want to be able to see andunderstand the basic features
and benefits of a product that atraditional product sitting on
a shelf isn't going to offer.
You contrast that withe-commerce or some of the online
(28:45):
retail shoppers that are outthere, and they would be subject
to a lot of reviews that helpcustomers decide whether or not
this is a product I want topurchase or not.
So the benefit is informationwe as consumers have now.
Because we have information atour fingertips, we have it in
(29:06):
our pocket with our mobiledevices, we are absolutely
interested in wanting to makethe very best purchase we can
for the lowest price available.
Of course, the benefit for theretailer is more sales, more
revenue, because they helpedinform the customer.
Embedding a QR code into thecontent of the electronic shelf
(29:28):
labels actually opens up a wholeworld of options for retailers
other than just informationsharing.
Some may use it for customerinformation gathering.
They're trying to learn moreabout their customer and maybe
in exchange for that information, they'll be able to clip a
coupon and by embedding a couponwithin the app itself, that's
(29:51):
capturing that data off of thetag.
Some may use it to clip acoupon.
That's all that's it.
It's it's a way of being ableto say, okay, I can get a dollar
off this particular product ifI scan the QR code.
So it allows me to have a moreintimate shopping experience and
and make the shopping, uh, evenmore fun for the consumer,
(30:15):
which is what a lot of theretailers that we speak to in
the brick and mortar are veryinterested in doing.
They want to enhance thatcustomer's shopping experience
within their particular store.
And then another creative I'veseen this used with QR codes as
well is if there was an itemthat I see on the shelf the
(30:37):
picture but it's out of stock, Ireally wanted to purchase that
item.
Maybe I actually drove from myhome all the way to the store to
actually pick up that only item.
Well, being able to then scanthe QR code and then allow me to
place that order online usingthe retailer's website and have
(30:59):
it delivered right to my homevia free delivery is huge.
That way the retailer doesn'tlose out on that revenue,
they're able to capture thatrevenue.
So the utilization of QR codesis very interesting and we have
seen with retailers that,depending on their biggest use
case and sometimes it'sdepartmental, it's not just
(31:20):
store-wide.
They know that there arecertain products where that's
more relevant than others, butbeing able to capture that
revenue versus the customersaying, well, they're out of it,
so I guess I'll just go orderit online.
I'll just go, I'll leave thestore and order it online.
They missed out on that revenue.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yeah, I imagine that just the concept of saving the
sale and converting someone whois clearly indicating to you by
their actions that they'reconsidering that product and
you've got them right there atthe altar, so to speak and
having access to the productdetail page might provide the
(31:57):
information or resolution itfeels like.
Whatever the issue is, thatresults in a purchase, and just
that one aspect to it spoke tome, based on my background.
But I got to tell you, even ifit's a food product or a CPG
product, as Alex was talkingabout, where you need to, maybe
it's dietary issues what's thereadiness for reviews, or is it
(32:20):
available at the next storeacross town?
Those are all kind of use casesthat are enabled by that
technology, right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
And I would also add to that it's not just saving
that sale of that product, butit's saving that customer
relationship because the storeis in position, is helpful to
the shopper by getting them whatthey want.
And if we can't get it to youin this way, we can get it to
you in that way.
And what that does is keeps theshopper coming back and keeps
(32:53):
repeat business right.
There's a lot of marketingtricks out there to drive repeat
business, but the best arebuilding that relationship with
the shopper so they feel thisstore has my back.
They're going to make sure mykids have their snack, that they
requested for lunches this weekor whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
That's right.
That that is awesome, alex, youknow.
Occurs to me that you knowagain, we've talked a number of
times about the ROI and theinvestment decision.
When a retailer is consideringnew technology, obviously the
evaluation has to begin at somepoint.
(33:33):
How do you advise your retailclients on how to maybe begin
the process of evaluating atechnology solution like digital
signage, like ESLs?
Is there homework they need todo first before they engage you?
How do you guys guide them downthat journey to evaluating the
(33:55):
possibility of piloting orrolling out a solution like this
?
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Yeah, really good question.
And the answer is we understandwhat they're trying to achieve.
First, we want to know whatchallenges are they trying to
overcome and what's their visionfor how.
We'll come back with how maybeour technology can help.
(34:19):
But we really try to understandtheir business challenges and
what they're facing.
That's driving them to evenhave this discussion and through
understanding the challengesthey're facing today and working
with them as true partners andthis is exactly how we work with
our clients and why they'vestuck with us and keep coming
(34:41):
back to us and are willing toshare ideas with us and then
have us go back to the lab, as Isaid, and come up with new
technologies and solutions tosolve those.
The way that we are able tohelp them evaluate is by
understanding and them sharinginformation about what they're
trying to overcome problems,areas they're facing and then we
(35:01):
can help work with them.
It's a two-way conversationabout how we can help them
overcome those barriers.
Tim, I'm sure you have some toadd to this too.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Yeah, I mean, one of the things that we touched on
earlier was the personalizationtechnology of the tags
themselves.
I think most retailers arelearning that personalization
technology is the key to gettingcustomers who have moved away
from shopping on-site toe-commerce sites to rethinking
their options and really bygetting them back into the
(35:50):
stores.
Brick and mortar stores mustthink differently about making
it all about the customerexperience, and utilizing
personalization technologyenables them to do just that.
I mean, if I'm a vegan and I gogrocery shopping, it would be
very helpful to know where allof the vegan items are on the
shelf.
Utilizing our ES esls with ourlighting technology gives us
that capability.
Uh, maybe they're all lit upwith a.
Well, you mentioned the purplecolor earlier, alex, the purple
light.
(36:10):
There's seven different lightsto choose from, but it enables
me to to quickly know and go tothat particular item because I
know it's vegan friendly.
Or we have multiple colorswithin the ESL technology and
maybe throughout the store.
If it's in a certain shade oforange, let's say, then I now
know that that is a veganfriendly item.
(36:32):
So it's making that customershopping experience very
personalized but enhancing theiroverall experience altogether.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
You know, tim, it's so neat that you mentioned the
role of personalization and Iwas going to ask you about that.
I had an experience with afriend recently who's from the
automotive industry and thereare a number of retailers who
now, as part of the consumer'sprofile, put in here are the
vehicles that I own.
(37:01):
And so then when shopping inthe automotive category for
something that isvehicle-specific a headlight
bulb or a fan belt or somethingthat's unique ESLs I guess, can
light up and show me this isjust the products for my car,
(37:22):
products that fit everybody'scar.
But it's kind of a play onpersonalization.
You mentioned dietary.
I just want to see things thatfit my specific dietary
restrictions.
It just feels like it goes.
The personalization benefits goacross categories and shopping
scenarios, do they not?
(37:44):
In ways that I think a lot ofretailers don't yet realize.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Yeah, another example you mentioned automotive.
That's actually a very strategicvertical for us and one in
which we're dealing with a lotof dealerships.
And one in which we're dealingwith a lot of dealerships.
And one of the things youmentioned customizing a certain
vehicle that I'm looking forthat has all the options I'm
looking for, whether that be thecolor, the color of the
interior, leather seats versuscloth, et cetera, that killer
(38:10):
sound system, being able to useeither a digital display inside
the facility to help narrow downmy focus, and or just being
able to shop the parking lotthrough my mobile device.
We actually have sizes of theESL that are more like an eight
and a half by 11 that actuallywork really well within the car.
(38:33):
That replaced the traditionalpaper tag that's on the inside
of the window.
That would allow me, as ashopper looking for the very
specific items, to point outexactly which car or cars are
the perfect selection based onmy criteria.
So, if you can imagine, insteadof walking up and down looking
through an entire you know carlot, it's it makes it a lot
(38:56):
easier if I can go right to thecar.
That is the car of my dreams.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
I hadn't even thought about that in the context of
true automotive retailing notauto parts retailing, but
automotive retailing.
We're finding the vehicle,whether new or used, has what
you're looking for.
Researching it online andfinding it in a physical
dealership was not connectedbefore.
Sounds like the days of thatare coming to an end and
(39:24):
eventually we'll be able toconnect researching for a
vehicle online and then findingthat location or that car on the
lot and doing that reallyeasily through your technology.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Absolutely.
Another example would behospitals, healthcare systems, a
lot of hospitals.
If you can imagine the amountof inventory they have for their
patient, for patient care,their back rooms are called par
rooms.
So if I'm a nurse and I'mlooking for a particular item,
patient needs it quickly or thedoctors are needing it quickly
(39:57):
for a surgery that's about totake place.
Can you imagine not knowingwhere those items are that
they're going to need and ittakes several minutes to find
those items, as opposed toincorporating our solution with
ESLs?
Using a mobile device, I canfind exactly where those items
are within seconds and beingable to bring those back to the
(40:18):
doctor and or the patient in avery timely fashion.
So a lot of differentapplications other than just
even retail.
Even manufacturing distributionfacilities to help find items
faster seems to be somethingthat's of great interest across
multi-verticals.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
That is so neat.
Well, tim and Alex, thank you somuch.
I feel like I'm a lot smarterand our audience is a lot
smarter about the impact of yourtechnology, and part of the
reason why I'm so excited tohave had the chance to talk with
you is that, as this discussioncomes up with people that I
come across in our industry, itfeels like there's a very
(40:58):
one-dimensional view of what ESLtechnology can do and, as we've
talked about today, there areso many other business benefits
to it and it's evolving andchanging.
And, alex, to your point,you're willing to work with
retailers to design newsolutions enabled by your
technology, all the time.
So that is really excitingstuff.
(41:21):
Thanks to you so much forsharing it.
And so, tim and Alex, it seemslike the business benefits for
retailers and for consumerbrands from ESL technologies are
emerging every day, and it alsoseems as though the consumer
shopping experience isabsolutely benefiting from ESL
(41:43):
in so many different ways thatour industry has collectively
just begun to discover.
So thank you both for takingthe time to educate me and
educate our audience on thelatest trends in your industry.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
So thank you.
Thank you, scott, we appreciatethe time yeah thanks for having
us.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
You bet so for the Digital Front Door.
I'm Scott Benedict.
Thanks again for watching.
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Digital Front
Door.
I'm Scott Benedict.
Many times, when we talk aboutthe evolution of omni-channel
retailing, our first thoughtsrun towards enhancements to a
retailer's website, to theirmobile app, to the store pickup
or delivery, elements that arecontinuing to see innovation or
(00:29):
improvements.
It seems like with everypassing week Now to be certain,
these aspects of the technologyinvestments and the process
improvements that retailers aremaking are bringing benefits of
anywhere, anytime shopping tolife for consumers to a greater
degree, and they're doing soreally at a blistering pace.
(00:51):
However, there is one area ofdigitally enabled shopping that
I believe does not have thefocus it should consistently
across the retail community,whether that's here in the US or
in other retail markets aroundthe world, and that is the
technology related to electronicshelf labels.
(01:12):
Now, many in our industry viewESL technology as an in-store
only technology innovation.
However, the role that thistechnology plays as a connective
element of both physical anddigital retail is just beginning
to emerge in ways that are bothexciting for the retailer, for
(01:34):
the store associate and frontlines and, ultimately, for
consumers.
More about this excitingtechnology.
I thought we could tap into theexpertise of two leaders from a
firm that is at the forefront ofthis emerging and very exciting
technology.
The Solemn Group is an excitingand innovative firm that was
(01:55):
the result of a spinoff fromSamsung's Electromagnetics
Division, and they have officesnot only in Seoul Korea division
, and they have offices not onlyin Seoul Korea Frankfurt,
germany and here in New YorkCity in the United States, and
we're excited to have twoleaders from that organization
join us today.
First is Alex Walderman.
Alex serves as the Director ofBusiness Development for Solem
(02:20):
in Toronto.
He works with a number ofCanadian retailers and Alex
joins us today from his officejust outside of Toronto.
So hello, alex.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Hello.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Scott, Thanks for having us.
You bet we're also joined byTim McCracken.
Tim serves as the VicePresident of Sales for SoLum and
Tim joins us from his office inthe Dallas-Fort Worth area.
And Tim, thank you for joiningus as well.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Absolutely.
Thank you, Scott.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
All right.
So we've got a little bit of aninternational element, and
certainly a multi-locationelement, to our episode today,
so I'm excited to have both ofyou join and talk a little bit
about this.
Join and talk a little bitabout this, alex, let me come to
you first and for the benefitof our audience who may be there
(03:10):
may be people who are not asfamiliar with ESL technology
Could you really kind of beginour conversation today by
defining what digital storesignage is broadly and maybe a
little bit about electronicshelf labels in particular.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Definitely for sure.
So digital signage and ESLelectronic shelf labels are two
key elements that make up thein-store solution, which is very
much connected.
So for many, many years nowwe've seen, as we've all gone
out into the world, shopping,digital signage, communicating
(03:47):
advertising, promotionalmessaging and helping guide
shoppers through the space tohelp them fill their cart with
the right products based on whatthey need.
But what's newer and what we'respreading far and wide and
helping retailers implementeffectively is ESL electronic
shelf labels, in other words,digital price tags, and so what
(04:09):
it does is it enables retailersto be much more operationally
efficient in managing not onlythe price point but the other
elements related to eachindividual product that they
need to communicate at shelflevel, which could differ by
industry, to calorie count infood locations, to expiry dates,
(04:29):
to pricing, to bulk pricing, todeal types for certain
retailers that have a weeklyspecial versus stock up savings.
And the magic really in whatwe've been really bringing
retailers and what they'reexcited about is the connection
between digital price tags, eslelectronic shelf labels and
(04:51):
digital signage to tell aintegrated story and allow
shoppers to get a message onscreen and connect it to what's
on shelf in real time and evenhave a connected experience to
what that shopper may have seenout of store that drove them
into the store in the firstplace.
And then we close the deal, soto speak, with signage and price
(05:14):
tags in store.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That is so neat.
I look forward to kind ofdiving into that a little bit
deeper.
But I think one of the things,Tim, I wanted to kind of pose
the question to you.
I know, kind of at thebeginning of the conversation or
the thought process on the partof a lot of retailers as
they're considering the businesscase for implementing ESL
(05:39):
technologies, what do you andthe team kind of suggest are the
most important considerationsin evaluating kind of the return
on investment for a technologysolution like what Solum and
your team do?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, no, it's a great question, Scott.
So I would say that there areseveral considerations that
retailers explore, I would say,the first being which department
should we deploy these in?
Does it make sense to deployESL in the apparel department if
all of apparel in our storecomes to us pre-tagged with a
(06:19):
price tag on it?
Or does it make sense to deployonly in a few key departments
within that particular retailerand then maybe scale on an
as-needed basis throughout thestore?
So many retailers that we speakwith are reviewing that on a
frequent basis prior to makingtheir decision.
(06:41):
I would say.
Another consideration is howmany stores to deploy at once.
Do we want to do 20 stores thisyear or do we want to do we
want to try to get all 180stores that we have up and
running this year because ofthat return on investment that
many of our retailers are seeingin only 18 months that we have
(07:06):
deployed our particularsolutions to.
So once they maybe theyinitially thought we would roll
out 20 stores they quicklyrealized that ROI, and then
there's like a mad dash to thefinish how do we get all the
rest of the stores up andrunning with ESL technology and
digital signage as soon aspossible.
So I think that what retailersare discovering is that it's
(07:31):
really not about eliminatingheadcount per se.
When people traditionally thinkabout ESL, the assumption is
well, how do we reduce costs asit relates to headcount?
But I think what our customersare seeing is that actually it's
not really about reducingpeople, but reallocating that
(07:53):
labor elsewhere within the storeto help improve overall
productivity and then, obviously, bottom line results.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yes, I imagine also being able to put some staff on
customer facing activities wherethey're actually helping a
customer instead of being stuckdoing other less customer facing
type work.
Absolutely yeah.
So, alex, when a retailer isconsidering an ESL solution, I'm
(08:27):
kind of guessing that you don'tsuggest that they go store wide
or chain wide excuse me rightaway that they start with a
group of pilot stores.
Is that accurate?
How do you help retailers kindof decide how to get started
with a pilot?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Yeah, it's complicated, so we try to help
guide them, as we've done this.
Like you said earlier, we havepresence globally.
We've done this globally formany retailers in many
industries, so it's not chainwide from day one.
Retailers rightly so want totest this, maybe in one area of
(09:06):
the store, like Kim suggested,and that could be driven by a
number of factors.
But they want to test it insome fashion, see how it
performs, see the benefits andthen maybe deploy to more stores
in those departments that theystarted, or maybe spread it
across that one or two or threestores that they're testing
before deploying elsewhere.
(09:27):
But what we often find is that,yeah, of course, like most
things, you start small, you seehow it goes and you grow it
from there.
But to Tim's point earlier,several of our clients have
found that they've estimated Xtime for ROI and planned
accordingly, but then said, ohmy God, we're seeing more than
(09:47):
we thought quicker.
How do we get this out to morestores faster?
And we've seen the problem onour end, which we're happy to
solve and have solved like athuge scale, is our clients tried
this.
They love it so much, they needso many tags so quickly.
How do we get this to them.
And that's when we go home andtell the team you know, turn
(10:09):
that 24-hour clock on, becausewe've got to make some more of
these, I'll bet that's awonderful problem to have.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Yes, retailers are facing so many investment
decisions on what technology toinvest in and how to go quick
enough but not too quick, thatwhen you have examples where it
turns out the pilot worked outso great that the retailer wants
to accelerate.
What a wonderful problem tohave in such a fast-paced
(10:42):
environment.
Tim, I'm curious.
You know, it seems like one ofthe obvious business benefits of
ESL technology is something youtouched on earlier labor
savings as it relates tochanging or updating signage.
But I want to go a little bitdeeper on that.
(11:03):
I would imagine, certainly asyou all have educated me on your
industry, there's a lot morebusiness benefit that stems from
ESL technology than just thelabor savings of updating or
changing signs.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Absolutely so.
When we meet with potentialcustomers exploring ESL as an
option, they're often shocked towhat they initially think are
going to be saved labor costs.
(11:48):
But again, as we said earlier,they find very quickly that they
can reroute their existinglabor in other areas of the
store to increase productivity.
But then they're astounded tolearn that the ESL, or
electronic shelf label, canassist with things like
inventory notification,replacing empty shelf space on
(12:09):
the floor, order picking, postpandemic or even during the
pandemic, you know, a lot ofpeople were not able to shop or
were afraid to shop.
So online ordering really got ajumpstart and a kickstart that
hasn't stopped.
So retailers are faced withchallenges as it relates to
(12:36):
fulfilling online orders and howdo we fulfill those faster?
The faster we can fulfill thatorder, the more revenue we're
going to be able to take in onan hourly basis.
Wayfinding is anothercapability that people will
utilize, both digital signageand DSL for more information and
(12:56):
so much more.
Retailers are now learning thatwe can help them improve both
revenue and decrease their costssimultaneously, which is really
exciting for them.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I'm your person, wait .
So I mean just to follow up onthat.
That's where the sign can helpsomeone with a mobile device
find the location of aparticular item or a particular
category in that particularstore.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Is that right?
That is correct.
If I'm looking for a certaintype of shampoo and I need to
know where to go within thestore, using the app that maybe
that store already hasincorporated or embedded into
their mobile applications, itwould allow me to essentially
say okay, I need to go straightand to the left, and then, once
(13:44):
I get to that aisle, I couldeven hit a button and it would
then light up the tag to show meexactly the precise location of
where that item is on the shelf.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
That is so neat, alex .
One of the things that Tim justtouched on was the fact that
ESLs can help make the storeassociate more efficient as they
are picking store pickup ordersor delivery orders.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthat, maybe go a level deeper
(14:16):
and talk about how yourtechnology enables that process
to be a little bit moreefficient and easier for the
store associate.
To finish, sure A hundredpercent.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Well, let me open with a story of I started with
Solium about a year ago andbefore I even joined I visited
some stores that have it and,without revealing where I'm
coming to work, I kind of askedhow's this going?
Our technology that their storepickers in a grocery chain can
(14:53):
now pick three times in thiscase the number of carts per
hour, because our ESLs arecommunicating with those pickers
phones and saying here'sScott's order, look for the
purple blinking tags in aisletwo, nine and 11, and go pick
this order for Scott.
And now that picker cannavigate the store and find the
(15:16):
product so much quicker thathe's able to do from three carts
an hour to between seven andnine is what I was told at that
time.
And think of the revenue thatthat is generating for these
stores when they use thistechnology for these associates
In this case the associate is apicker fulfilling online orders
Two to three times the amount ofcarts that this person is
(15:40):
fulfilling per hour.
Unbelievable staff that Ilearned and I validated that
through multiple sources, sinceI've been doing this over the
past while, and it's reallyunbelievable.
Validated that through multiplesources, since I've been doing
this over the past while, andit's really unbelievable.
And that's the kind of thingthat leads retailers to come
back to us and say how many ofthese can you make?
Because we said 50 stores nextyear, but now we want 100 of
(16:01):
them Because the ROI is there.
And that's just one example.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Yeah, I would imagine that that process, which is so
labor intensive, gets so mucheasier, so much faster.
Quite frankly, a lot moreenjoyable, I would assume, for
the store associate to havethose lighting lit up ESLs that
help direct them to the item andmake that process so much more
efficient and easier for them todo right 100%.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And there's more benefits too, even outside of
fulfilling online carts, whencustomers are trying to find a
product.
Like Tim shared the shampootype example earlier, imagine a
shopper now going to anassociate who can find things
more easily in the storenavigate himself to help the
(16:49):
shopper find it more easily.
And then also again, scott.
We've chatted before about themagic of in-store communications
and in-store marketing,upselling shoppers and getting
them to put more in their basket.
The connection of these tags,between the tag and digital
signage is one thing.
To help motivate the shopper tofind the right products and
(17:12):
maybe add a complimentaryproduct on and guide them to
that art show.
It also goes to the associate,where the associate can now
search based on what he needs.
To help the shopper with andget additional pop-ups that help
him sell more effectively tothe shopper.
To upsell, build baskets,generate revenue and look
helpful to the shopper.
To upsell, build baskets,generate revenue and look
(17:33):
helpful to the shopper.
And what a better use of thatin-store staff than swapping
tags or signs.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
No, that is so neat.
This is a way in whichtechnology is enabling not only
a more efficient retailexperience, but a much more
enjoyable one and a more,perhaps solution-based approach
for the customer, because wehelp them find everything that
they're looking for and do itreally efficiently.
Yeah, yeah, and that leads meto kind of my next question for
(18:07):
you Beyond the individual shelflabels for an individual product
, are there other roles digitalsignage can play in other areas
or other aspects of the retailshopping experience either
directional signage ordepartment signage.
What other roles can yourtechnology plot?
Speaker 3 (18:30):
That's an excellent question.
So, essentially, customers aredelighted to learn that we are
more than just an electronicshelf label manufacturer.
We are also in the digitalsignage space and one of the
exciting things that's happeningin our industry is having the
(18:50):
ability to integrate theirelectronic shelf labels into a
traditional 55, 65 or 75 inchdisplay, for example.
So what do I mean by that?
So, for example, let's say thata customer is at a grocery
store, or you're a customer at agrocery store and you're
wanting to select a certainbottle of wine.
(19:13):
You walk up to one of ourdisplays and you can say, okay,
I'm looking for a red bottle ofwine, then I want it to be extra
dry, maybe an internationalselection, etc.
And, narrowing down thatcriteria, hit a button on that
display that then lights up aseries of tags that just went
(19:36):
from thousands, literallythousands of bottles to choose
from in that grocery store tomaybe three.
These three fit the criteriathat you were looking for.
So in a matter of seconds, theelectronic shelf labels will
light up.
Narrowing down that focus foryou as the shopper and even more
(19:57):
exciting is okay.
So now you've narrowed downthat focus to three bottles.
Which one should I select?
Well, this particular bottleusing the ESL may have a little
message on it saying select thebutton underneath the tag for
more information.
So let's say you did that, youselect the, you press the button
(20:17):
on the tag.
Well, right above the shelfthere might be another 55-inch
display that will then play a45-second commercial telling you
a little bit of informationabout where the wine originated
from, where the vineyard, moreinformation about the vineyard
or the certain types of grapesthat they use, or whatever.
That allows you to immediatelybecome connected with the
(20:44):
product and even gives you astory for your dinner party that
you're throwing that evening interms of your shopping
experience, combined with whatyou learned about this
particular bottle of wine.
So I think this capability isreally a game changer, is what
we're seeing, as it relates tohelping the customer make the
right choice based on theircriteria while at the same time,
(21:08):
enhancing the customerexperience in the store.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
That is really exciting, I think.
For someone like myself whocame out of the consumer
electronics business, where wewere always taught to focus on
solution selling, onunderstanding what a customer
needed and trying to solve itnot just with one product but a
whole solution, it feels likeyour technology really is an
enabler in those scenarios.
You gave in the wine example ofbringing that to life, but
(21:36):
doing so in a very efficient,cost-effective way.
Right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, and the solution is the key word,
honestly, that these ideas oftencome up based on us our clients
telling us challenges they'rehaving, and we go back and build
these solutions or find outways to use the technology and
often clients come to us with.
Wouldn't it be great if wecould use this this way?
(22:04):
That way?
We love collaborating withclients.
Some of the best ideas happenthat way, by figuring out what
challenges are your shoppersfacing.
Here's how you can use ourtechnology to help overcome it.
Or you can't use our technologyto overcome it today, but let
me take that back.
And then we go back to the laband figure out how to make it
(22:25):
happen, and we've done this somany times that that's what gets
our team excited and keeps usall pumped to keep growing our
capabilities is because we'rehelping retailers solve
challenges, so much that.
And then you tie that back tothe ROI we talked about before.
This is how they see it so muchfaster because it doesn't just
(22:47):
do one thing, it's not a digitalprice, it's so much more.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
That is, I think, one of the least understood aspects
.
My perception is of yourindustry and of your solution is
it does more than one thing itsolves many business challenges
and enhances the customerexperience.
And, alex, that brings me toone other area that I suspect
(23:14):
your technology is beginning toaddress.
That relates to retail media,and it's obviously one of the
fastest growing elements ofomni-channel retail.
But most of the benefits ofretail media marketing stem from
the online experience, helpinga consumer find what they're
looking for when they're doing asearch or browsing online.
(23:37):
Is there a way that digitalsignage can now help retail
media campaigns come to life ina physical store as well?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
store as well.
Well, scott, from our pastchats, of course this is the
perfect topic for me to talkabout with you.
Of course, yes, retail mediaagain, being a marketer at Art
and coming up in the retailmarketing world myself for 12
plus years that online searchcriteria that you just mentioned
is now connected to the store.
It's not that it's mimicked orthat there's now a version.
(24:19):
In the store, the shopper is aperson.
We all see things on our phone,see things on TV or a billboard
and put it on a list or takenote and build our lists or
menus for groceries for thefollowing week in real time, and
we don't just shop online orjust shop in store.
It's a combination.
So what this connected systemthat we're bringing into the
(24:43):
stores of ESL, electronic shelflabels, digital signage, other
technologies that integrate thestore experience with the online
experience what that does is itallows the shopper to continue
their shopping journey from whatthey did at home or on the
phone into the store and itallows them to truly continue
(25:05):
that from when they maybe builda list on their phone to when
they come into the store and howthese elements, like an app,
for example, for a grocery chain, is connected now to the store
and they can communicate in atwo-way fashion with the
displays to help them find whatthey're looking for or trigger
deals in store that arecustomized, personalized to the
(25:30):
shopper, based on his habits orher habits.
That's where this is all goingand in some ways, many ways,
it's already there that we areenabling the retailer to give
the shopper a truly personalizedexperience.
And, to your point on retailmedia.
This is opportunity forretailers to bring their CPG
(25:54):
consumer packaged goods productpartners unbelievable
opportunities to connect withtheir shoppers in very
personalized ways, based on pastpurchase habit, what they've
searched and now they're instore.
How do we close the sale loopand get them to put my product
in their basket?
This is now all possible byconnecting what happened at home
(26:19):
to what happened in storethrough our electronic shelf
labels, digital signage and,with the wisest retailers, them
connecting these systems withour assistants and then bringing
those opportunities to the CPGconsumer packaged goods, cokes,
pepsis, other brands of theworld.
So they want to get on board,to your point on a retail
(26:42):
meeting and create an experiencefor their brand that they could
not otherwise create.
Yesterday they were buying anin-store 15-second ad on a
digital sign.
Today.
It's a holistic full cycleexperience.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
And it feels like all three of us have been tying
back to this whole concept ofthe ROI, of the technology.
And if you bring a retail mediaelement to it, the ROI equation
gets a whole lot more favorable, a whole lot quicker.
I would imagine yeah, 100%.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
So, tim, I mentioned earlier that I'm from a consumer
electronics background and oneof our major electronics
retailers recently remodeledtheir store here locally in
northwest Arkansas andimplemented kind of a
second-generation ESL solutionwhere there is a QR code element
(27:38):
on the digital sign that whenyou pull out your phone and scan
that QR code, it immediatelytakes the consumer to that
product's item detail page ontheir website and in the case of
a consumer electronics producta little bit more complex
product, in the case of aconsumer electronics product a
(28:00):
little bit more complex productit really creates kind of an
end-to-end research before youbuy scenario Is this printer ink
compatible with my printer?
Is this TV ideal for the roomthat I want to use that in?
What is the benefit for theconsumer and for the retailer of
this kind of omni-channelaspect of ESL?
Speaker 3 (28:20):
technology?
Absolutely so.
The immediate benefit for theconsumer is information.
They want to be able to see andunderstand the basic features
and benefits of a product that atraditional product sitting on
a shelf isn't going to offer.
You contrast that withe-commerce or some of the online
(28:45):
retail shoppers that are outthere, and they would be subject
to a lot of reviews that helpcustomers decide whether or not
this is a product I want topurchase or not.
So the benefit is informationwe as consumers have now.
Because we have information atour fingertips, we have it in
(29:06):
our pocket with our mobiledevices, we are absolutely
interested in wanting to makethe very best purchase we can
for the lowest price available.
Of course, the benefit for theretailer is more sales, more
revenue, because they helpedinform the customer.
Embedding a QR code into thecontent of the electronic shelf
(29:28):
labels actually opens up a wholeworld of options for retailers
other than just informationsharing.
Some may use it for customerinformation gathering.
They're trying to learn moreabout their customer and maybe
in exchange for that information, they'll be able to clip a
coupon and by embedding a couponwithin the app itself, that's
(29:51):
capturing that data off of thetag.
Some may use it to clip acoupon.
That's all that's it.
It's it's a way of being ableto say, okay, I can get a dollar
off this particular product ifI scan the QR code.
So it allows me to have a moreintimate shopping experience and
and make the shopping, uh, evenmore fun for the consumer,
(30:15):
which is what a lot of theretailers that we speak to in
the brick and mortar are veryinterested in doing.
They want to enhance thatcustomer's shopping experience
within their particular store.
And then another creative I'veseen this used with QR codes as
well is if there was an itemthat I see on the shelf the
(30:37):
picture but it's out of stock, Ireally wanted to purchase that
item.
Maybe I actually drove from myhome all the way to the store to
actually pick up that only item.
Well, being able to then scanthe QR code and then allow me to
place that order online usingthe retailer's website and have
(30:59):
it delivered right to my homevia free delivery is huge.
That way the retailer doesn'tlose out on that revenue,
they're able to capture thatrevenue.
So the utilization of QR codesis very interesting and we have
seen with retailers that,depending on their biggest use
case and sometimes it'sdepartmental, it's not just
(31:20):
store-wide.
They know that there arecertain products where that's
more relevant than others, butbeing able to capture that
revenue versus the customersaying, well, they're out of it,
so I guess I'll just go orderit online.
I'll just go, I'll leave thestore and order it online.
They missed out on that revenue.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yeah, I imagine that just the concept of saving the
sale and converting someone whois clearly indicating to you by
their actions that they'reconsidering that product and
you've got them right there atthe altar, so to speak and
having access to the productdetail page might provide the
(31:57):
information or resolution itfeels like.
Whatever the issue is, thatresults in a purchase, and just
that one aspect to it spoke tome, based on my background.
But I got to tell you, even ifit's a food product or a CPG
product, as Alex was talkingabout, where you need to, maybe
it's dietary issues what's thereadiness for reviews, or is it
(32:20):
available at the next storeacross town?
Those are all kind of use casesthat are enabled by that
technology, right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
And I would also add to that it's not just saving
that sale of that product, butit's saving that customer
relationship because the storeis in position, is helpful to
the shopper by getting them whatthey want.
And if we can't get it to youin this way, we can get it to
you in that way.
And what that does is keeps theshopper coming back and keeps
(32:53):
repeat business right.
There's a lot of marketingtricks out there to drive repeat
business, but the best arebuilding that relationship with
the shopper so they feel thisstore has my back.
They're going to make sure mykids have their snack, that they
requested for lunches this weekor whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
That's right.
That that is awesome, alex, youknow.
Occurs to me that you knowagain, we've talked a number of
times about the ROI and theinvestment decision.
When a retailer is consideringnew technology, obviously the
evaluation has to begin at somepoint.
(33:33):
How do you advise your retailclients on how to maybe begin
the process of evaluating atechnology solution like digital
signage, like ESLs?
Is there homework they need todo first before they engage you?
How do you guys guide them downthat journey to evaluating the
(33:55):
possibility of piloting orrolling out a solution like this
?
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Yeah, really good question.
And the answer is we understandwhat they're trying to achieve.
First, we want to know whatchallenges are they trying to
overcome and what's their visionfor how.
We'll come back with how maybeour technology can help.
(34:19):
But we really try to understandtheir business challenges and
what they're facing.
That's driving them to evenhave this discussion and through
understanding the challengesthey're facing today and working
with them as true partners andthis is exactly how we work with
our clients and why they'vestuck with us and keep coming
(34:41):
back to us and are willing toshare ideas with us and then
have us go back to the lab, as Isaid, and come up with new
technologies and solutions tosolve those.
The way that we are able tohelp them evaluate is by
understanding and them sharinginformation about what they're
trying to overcome problems,areas they're facing and then we
(35:01):
can help work with them.
It's a two-way conversationabout how we can help them
overcome those barriers.
Tim, I'm sure you have some toadd to this too.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Yeah, I mean, one of the things that we touched on
earlier was the personalizationtechnology of the tags
themselves.
I think most retailers arelearning that personalization
technology is the key to gettingcustomers who have moved away
from shopping on-site toe-commerce sites to rethinking
their options and really bygetting them back into the
(35:50):
stores.
Brick and mortar stores mustthink differently about making
it all about the customerexperience, and utilizing
personalization technologyenables them to do just that.
I mean, if I'm a vegan and I gogrocery shopping, it would be
very helpful to know where allof the vegan items are on the
shelf.
Utilizing our ES esls with ourlighting technology gives us
that capability.
Uh, maybe they're all lit upwith a.
Well, you mentioned the purplecolor earlier, alex, the purple
light.
(36:10):
There's seven different lightsto choose from, but it enables
me to to quickly know and go tothat particular item because I
know it's vegan friendly.
Or we have multiple colorswithin the ESL technology and
maybe throughout the store.
If it's in a certain shade oforange, let's say, then I now
know that that is a veganfriendly item.
(36:32):
So it's making that customershopping experience very
personalized but enhancing theiroverall experience altogether.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
You know, tim, it's so neat that you mentioned the
role of personalization and Iwas going to ask you about that.
I had an experience with afriend recently who's from the
automotive industry and thereare a number of retailers who
now, as part of the consumer'sprofile, put in here are the
vehicles that I own.
(37:01):
And so then when shopping inthe automotive category for
something that isvehicle-specific a headlight
bulb or a fan belt or somethingthat's unique ESLs I guess, can
light up and show me this isjust the products for my car,
(37:22):
products that fit everybody'scar.
But it's kind of a play onpersonalization.
You mentioned dietary.
I just want to see things thatfit my specific dietary
restrictions.
It just feels like it goes.
The personalization benefits goacross categories and shopping
scenarios, do they not?
(37:44):
In ways that I think a lot ofretailers don't yet realize.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Yeah, another example you mentioned automotive.
That's actually a very strategicvertical for us and one in
which we're dealing with a lotof dealerships.
And one in which we're dealingwith a lot of dealerships.
And one of the things youmentioned customizing a certain
vehicle that I'm looking forthat has all the options I'm
looking for, whether that be thecolor, the color of the
interior, leather seats versuscloth, et cetera, that killer
(38:10):
sound system, being able to useeither a digital display inside
the facility to help narrow downmy focus, and or just being
able to shop the parking lotthrough my mobile device.
We actually have sizes of theESL that are more like an eight
and a half by 11 that actuallywork really well within the car.
(38:33):
That replaced the traditionalpaper tag that's on the inside
of the window.
That would allow me, as ashopper looking for the very
specific items, to point outexactly which car or cars are
the perfect selection based onmy criteria.
So, if you can imagine, insteadof walking up and down looking
through an entire you know carlot, it's it makes it a lot
(38:56):
easier if I can go right to thecar.
That is the car of my dreams.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
I hadn't even thought about that in the context of
true automotive retailing notauto parts retailing, but
automotive retailing.
We're finding the vehicle,whether new or used, has what
you're looking for.
Researching it online andfinding it in a physical
dealership was not connectedbefore.
Sounds like the days of thatare coming to an end and
(39:24):
eventually we'll be able toconnect researching for a
vehicle online and then findingthat location or that car on the
lot and doing that reallyeasily through your technology.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Absolutely.
Another example would behospitals, healthcare systems, a
lot of hospitals.
If you can imagine the amountof inventory they have for their
patient, for patient care,their back rooms are called par
rooms.
So if I'm a nurse and I'mlooking for a particular item,
patient needs it quickly or thedoctors are needing it quickly
(39:57):
for a surgery that's about totake place.
Can you imagine not knowingwhere those items are that
they're going to need and ittakes several minutes to find
those items, as opposed toincorporating our solution with
ESLs?
Using a mobile device, I canfind exactly where those items
are within seconds and beingable to bring those back to the
(40:18):
doctor and or the patient in avery timely fashion.
So a lot of differentapplications other than just
even retail.
Even manufacturing distributionfacilities to help find items
faster seems to be somethingthat's of great interest across
multi-verticals.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
That is so neat.
Well, tim and Alex, thank you somuch.
I feel like I'm a lot smarterand our audience is a lot
smarter about the impact of yourtechnology, and part of the
reason why I'm so excited tohave had the chance to talk with
you is that, as this discussioncomes up with people that I
come across in our industry, itfeels like there's a very
(40:58):
one-dimensional view of what ESLtechnology can do and, as we've
talked about today, there areso many other business benefits
to it and it's evolving andchanging.
And, alex, to your point,you're willing to work with
retailers to design newsolutions enabled by your
technology, all the time.
So that is really excitingstuff.
(41:21):
Thanks to you so much forsharing it.
And so, tim and Alex, it seemslike the business benefits for
retailers and for consumerbrands from ESL technologies are
emerging every day, and it alsoseems as though the consumer
shopping experience isabsolutely benefiting from ESL
(41:43):
in so many different ways thatour industry has collectively
just begun to discover.
So thank you both for takingthe time to educate me and
educate our audience on thelatest trends in your industry.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
So thank you.
Thank you, scott, we appreciatethe time yeah thanks for having
us.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
You bet so for the Digital Front Door.
I'm Scott Benedict.
Thanks again for watching.
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