Dive Brief:
- Seaside Market in Cardiff-by-the-sea, CA, has installed a new system to print price tags on plastic cards on a daily basis directly at the point of sale, according to a post by Edikio on Facebook.
- John Shamam, general manager of the store, said the tags are being used on perishable products to reflect constant price updates.
- The tags allow the store to harmonize the look and feel of its meat, seafood, cuisine and catering departments and be more efficient, Shamam said in the Facebook post.
Dive Insight:
This printer's efficiency comes from employees not having to print, laminate, or cut paper signs on a daily basis for all the departments with products that have rapid price changes.
The process at the store involves black label cards being printed for fish and meat products and cuisine and catering department labels printed on white cards. The price tags contain the product name, ingredients, price and allergen codes and about 100 products are edited and changed each week.
While this might not be a winning idea for a larger stores with more products and staff to take care of it all, it makes sense for a small store, which can have one department head handle all the changes. It keeps consumers from complaining about not finding the right prices and helps the store operate more seamlessly because everyone knows prices for all items at all times.
Despite the new high-tech printer, this is a low-tech solution to the problem of fluctuating food prices. Stores with a larger budget may want to instead invest in electronic store labels — commonly abbreviated ESLs — that can allow real-time updates through technology. Most American grocers have yet to embrace ESLs, likely because of the investment in hardware and software. However, this technology investment could open the door to other customer-centric upgrades, like interactive shelves that can provide product recommendations and custom pricing.