![\"lemons_paint\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Lemons_Paint.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nExample of an Electronic Price Label (EPL) at B Fresh in Allston, MA (11\/17\/16)<\/p>\n
Apparently, LED and eInk signage has been in use in Europe\u2019s more tech-forward retailers for years, but only recently are stores in the US investing in this technology. [i]<\/a> What are the benefits of this technology adoption? And will this shift be enough to compete long term with the likes of Instacart and Amazon Fresh, which are luring millennial consumers away from traditional brick-and-mortar grocers?<\/p>\n Increasing Operational Efficiency <\/strong><\/p>\n Considering the number of products sold by a typical grocery store and the sheer number of promotions that are constantly rotating through the product lines, it is easy to see how an electronic system for tracking product pricing changes is needed to maintain pricing accuracy at a check-out. According to Randall Stross, business professor at San Jose State University, \u201cA typical grocery store puts 5,000 items on sale in a week and removes sale prices from another 5,000.\u201d[ii]<\/a> To keep prices up-to-date, grocery store employees must constantly print and post paper price labels and \u201cSALE\u201d flags on their shelves for the duration of a promotion and then change them when the items go back to full price. If the prices on the shelves don\u2019t match the prices programed into the register, the store not only risks losing the customer\u2019s trust but is also subject to consumer protection regulatory penalties.[iii]<\/a><\/p>\n Switching from paper price signage to EPLs may generate significant labor cost savings to grocery stores. According to EPL manufacturer Altierre, stores see a payback on the investment in EPLs in 12-18 months based on reduced labor costs and improved margins.[iv]<\/a> Even if this payback estimate is optimistic, going digital creates additional value streams for grocery stores and creates a foundation for further innovation.[v]<\/a><\/p>\n Delivering on the Customer Promise <\/strong><\/p>\n The B Fresh store concept is trying to appeal to the Instacart generation by curating products to appeal to young professionals, providing unattended delivery service (groceries are delivered in an ice-packed container that is retrieved the next day), and locating stores in densely populated neighborhoods.[vi]<\/a> The digital element of their strategy includes the bfresh mobile and bfresh delivery mobile apps. Through the mobile app, customers can scan coupons at check-out and view the menu and order ahead from the store\u2019s Little Kitchen prepared foods counter. In the future, the store may be able to guide customers through the store using \u201cin store navigation\u201d on their smartphones linked to geolocation technology in the EPLs manufactured by the Swedish company Pricer.[vii]<\/a><\/p>\n As grocery shopping becomes tech-enabled, the winners in the grocery business will likely be the retailers who endeavor to change customer habits the least. Offering customers a multi-channel shopping experience and adopting technology that enhances that experience \u2013 as B Good is doing \u2013 seems like a promising strategy to build customer trust and loyalty at a time when grocery shopping online is not the obvious choice for most consumers.<\/p>\n [i]<\/a> Stross, Randall. \u201cDigital Tags Help Ensure that the Price is Right.\u201d New York Times, February 9, 2013 <http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/02\/10\/technology\/digital-tags-help-ensure-that-the-price-is-right.html<\/a>> Accessed 11\/2016.<\/p>\n [ii]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [iii]<\/a> A Massachusetts Consumer\u2019s Guide to Shopping Rights. Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. <http:\/\/www.mass.gov\/ocabr\/consumer-rights-and-resources\/consumer-protection\/shopping\/shopping-rights\/shopping-rights.html<\/a>> \u00a0Accessed 11\/2016.<\/p>\n [iv]<\/a> Soper, Spencer. \u201cAmazon Showrooming Forces Stores to Go Digital on Price Displays.\u201d Bloomberg Business Week, July 17, 2015 <https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2015-07-17\/amazon-showrooming-forces-stores-to-go-digital-on-price-displays<\/a>> Accessed 11\/2016.<\/p>\n [v]<\/a> Williams, Geoff. \u201cMeet the Supermarket of the Future.\u201d US News and World Report, January 1, 2016 <http:\/\/money.usnews.com\/money\/personal-finance\/articles\/2016-01-01\/meet-the-supermarket-of-the-future<\/a>> Accessed 11\/2016.<\/p>\n [vi]<\/a> Harris, David L. \u201cAn Old Staples Gets New Life as a Hip Grocery.\u201d Boston Business Journal, September 7, 2017 <http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/boston\/news\/2015\/09\/07\/an-old-staples-gets-new-life-as-a-hip-grocery.html<\/a>> Accessed 11\/2016.<\/p>\n [vii]<\/a> Pricer Group, 2015. Case Study: Carrefour, Revolutionizing the Shopping Experience. <http:\/\/www.pricer.com\/PressRoom\/Case-Studies\/Electronic-Shelf-Labels-for-Food-Retail\/Carrefour-2\/<\/a>> Accessed 11\/2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How brick-and-mortar grocery stores are up-ing their game to compete with online grocery options<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2236,"featured_media":19845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[2776,2775,2069,2671,2384],"class_list":["post-19693","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dynamic-pricing","category-electronic-price-label","category-instacart","category-mobile-app","category-online-grocery"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\n