Electronic shelf label

An electronic shelf label (ESL) system is used by retailers for displaying, typically on the front edge of retail shelving, product pricing on shelves that can automatically be updated or changed under the control of a central computer server.

[1] ESL tag modules use electronic paper (e-paper) or liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) to show the current product price to the customer.

[citation needed] An early system first offered for sale by National Cash Register (NCR) in 1997 used modulated backscatter of radio waves to provide two way wireless communications between the labels and the store’s radio network.

The numerical value to display on the tags itself are then shown based on activating different combinations of these seven bars and segments.

[5] As of 2016[update], the current generation of ESL use e-paper display technology and radio communications, integrated with existing retail technologies such as electronic article surveillance, digital signage, and people counters.

[7] A typical ESL utilizes ultra-low-power CPU and wireless communication solutions to meet low power of low cost constraints in order to displace the high number of static shelf labels required in an average retail store.

Some disadvantages of using electronic shelf labels are: The global ESL market throughout 2027 is forecast to grow more than 16% CAGR.

Further studies show that Europe currently dominates the ESL market in terms of size, with over one-third of the total market share in 2017, due to the strong presence of domestic and multinational retailers in the region, Diebold Nixdorf AG, and Displaydata.

[28] A study led by ABI Research states the global ESL market could reach US$2 billion by 2019(actual achieved marketshare in 2019 of $631 million), but a further study led by Fortune Business Isights expect the ESL market to reach $2.85 billion by 2027.