Electronic Shelf Labels or plain paper? We compare ESL and paper labels on cost, speed, reliability and sustainability — with concrete numbers.
Paper price labels are cheap and simple. Why should you switch? Because the calculation on closer look works out different than you think. Here is the honest comparison on six concrete points.
1. Cost per label. Paper: €0.02-0.05 per piece, but you buy thousands per year. ESL: €40-60 per label one-time, five to seven year lifespan. On a five-year basis: paper €0.30-0.80 per SKU, ESL €0.25-0.45 — comparable to slightly cheaper.
2. Staff cost. Paper: 8-15 hours per week changing prices in average supermarket = €10,000-20,000 per year. ESL: near zero hours for price changes.
3. Speed of price changes. Paper: from decision to label on shelf: days. ESL: seconds.
4. Error margin. Paper: shelf and checkout regularly diverge. ESL: 100% synchronized with POS.
5. Sustainability. Paper: tens of thousands of thrown-away labels per store per year. ESL: one label for 5-7 years.
6. Customer experience. Paper: static. ESL: can show stock status, origin, recommendations. More information without extra material.
We at WH Retail are brand-independent — Hanshow, Pricer, SES Imagotag Vusion, SoluM or Zkong. Based on your store setup we select the right platform.
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