Customer communication within settings like retail stores, hotels, universities, banks, and sports arenas has been evolving at a rapid pace.  More businesses are using a blend of print and digital signage and displays to get their messaging across and advancements in technology allow for digital displays to incorporate videos, animations, and high-resolution images.  When taking a blended approach to customer communications, it is very important for businesses to ensure consistent and accurate messaging across all communication channels.

Ensuring accuracy is especially important when it comes to managing electronic shelf labels (ESLs).  Electronic shelf labels are digital labels that show the price of items at the shelf edge, and they are becoming more widely used in retail stores.  Accuracy is of the utmost importance with ESLs to ensure that they are displaying the right price and for the right product.  The best way to ensure accurate communications and eliminate inconsistencies is to use a system that allows you to manage all your communications from one place.

The ECS5 Media Suite from ECS Global is a retail communication system that integrates all communications, including signage, shelf edge labels, electronic shelf labels, digital displays, and more, so they can be managed within one system.  ECS5 simplifies the management of ESLs as it integrates planogram information to ensure the labels are accurate to the product and allows for automatic ESL updates.  End-to-end observability is an important feature of ECS5 so users can confirm that ESLs were updated correctly and identify any issues with the update.

How ECS5 Helps Manage Electronic Shelf Labels

Shelf edge labels must correspond with the items on the shelf and display the correct, up to date pricing to ensure accuracy.  With ECS5, it is possible to manage the store planogram and the pricing information for electronic shelf labels easily and efficiently.

ECS5 allows users to set up a full digital planogram of the store that includes the layout of the store and location of every item.  Data from the store’s inventory can also be integrated with the digital planogram for real-time inventory tracking.  The digital planogram is synced with the ESLs so they each display the correct pricing for the right items.  The information sent to the ESLs can be updated very quickly and easily within ECS5 and you can schedule price changes for sales and promotions that will automatically update the ESLs at the appropriate time.

The following are the benefits of using electronic shelf labels with ECS5:

• Update pricing instantly and schedule price changes
• Eliminate the time it takes for employees to print and replace shelf tags, allowing them to focus on customer service
• Reduce waste and save money by eliminating the need to print shelf tags
• Integrate ESLs with planogram data to ensure pricing and product accuracy
• Integrate inventory data to keep track of what is on the shelves

End to End Observability

Ensuring the accuracy of the pricing and product information on ESLs is important so that your customers are getting the right information.  Retail stores must keep the pricing for every item within the store accurate and up to date.  ECS5 ensures end-to-end observability so that you can easily schedule pricing changes and check that the information on the ESLs has been properly updated.

ECS5 features exception reporting that can identify any problems with your updates and provide details for anything that did not update correctly.  This feature can also be incorporated into mobile and handheld devices used by employees so that problematic areas can be quickly identified and addressed.  You can also access a side-by-side view of the ECS Current Labels and the Live ESL images for quick visual confirmation of the pricing.  The data gathered by ECS5 provides a full picture of price compliance across your store, and multiple store locations.

The end-to-end observability features of ECS5 help retail stores provide accurate pricing and product information for their customers. The ability to schedule automatic pricing changes to be sent to the ESLs and confirm that they were implemented correctly saves time and money as store employees will be able to spend more of their time serving your customers instead of managing shelf labels.  Ensuring accurate ESLs also improves customer satisfaction and your bottom line by reducing refunds as customers will get the price they expect.

End-to-End Observability for All Communications with ECS5

Customers in retail stores rely on the information provided by ESLs to be accurate so they can make informed decisions at the point of sale.  The end-to-end observability features of ECS5 allow you to confirm the implementation and accuracy of ESL updates and immediately identify any problems that occurred with the update so they can be corrected.

ECS5 allows for the management of much more than ESLs.  With the ECS5 Media Suite, you can effectively manage all customer communications from a single dashboard, including print signage and shelf tags, multimedia displays, inventory and planograms, and more.  This holistic approach syncs inventory, planogram, and pricing information to ensure accurate, consistent communications that can be tracked and managed in real time.

The following are the main features of ECS5:

• Design print signage and shelf tags: ECS5 features a Media Manager to design print signage and shelf tags. These designs are saved in Media Manager and can be updated at any time.
• Automated signage and shelf tag printing: The printing of paper signage and shelf tags can be automated to occur at scheduled times. With integrated planogram data, ECS5 will only print shelf tags for items that are currently in stock.
• Manage multimedia displays: Dynamic multimedia displays featuring videos, animation, and high-resolution graphics can be created using Media Manager. These displays can also be sent instantly to connected screens.
• Electronic shelf label management: ESLs can be automatically updated to ensure accurate, up-to-date pricing while eliminating the need to manually print and place shelf tags.
• Integrate inventory and planograms: Inventory and planogram data can be synced to ensure accurate ESLs and shelf tag labels. The inventory can also be checked from any connected device.
• Manage communications across multiple locations: ECS5 can be used to manage communications in multiple store locations from the same dashboard. This allows you to implement automated pricing updates that only take effect in certain locations.
• End-to-end visibility: When using separate systems to manage communications, there is a higher risk of inaccuracies and inconsistencies, and it may be difficult to identify where it went wrong. With the end-to-end observability of ECS5, you can easily track and manage updates and pinpoint any issues so they can be addressed immediately.

Contact ECS Global to learn more about how ECS5 can help you streamline customer communications and ensure consistent and accurate messaging across all channels.