Asda has worked with Avery Berkel and Hanshow on a project to create the first sustainability-focused store in the UK that utilises electronic shelf labels (ESLs) and digital retail solutions to “enhance operations and improve the shopping experience for customers”.
The partnership aimed to advance Asda’s move into product refill solutions over the last couple of years. Avery Berkel and Hanshow collaborated to leverage their expertise in retail scales, enterprise-scale management, and ESLs to develop a sustainable system for Asda’s trial store in Middleton that eliminates the need for physical labels and creates a zero-waste solution for the retailer.
The solutions offered by Avery Berkel and Hanshow also promote Asda’s ‘Refill Price Promise’ programme, which guarantees lower prices to help its customers shop more sustainably. ESL technology reduces the cost and time of manual labelling updates, while allowing the retailer to make real-time changes to prices and promotions. It also allows shoppers to see price differences in wrapped and unwrapped versions of the same product.
A statement said: “Avery Berkel and Hanshow’s ESL technology streamlines in-store change administration and management, ensuring real-time price and product updates to keep shelves up to date and compliant with regulations. This flexibility to adjust prices and promotions enables retailers to respond promptly to market trends and customer demands, while reducing costs associated with label stock holding and consumables. Increased productivity and efficiency allow employees to focus on providing better customer service.”
The system also provides shoppers with an “enriching refill experience” while emphasising sustainability. Unlike standard printed shelf and product labels, the total refill solution offers additional product information such as refill instructions, ingredients, allergens, and storage details to encourage sustainable shopping.
The statement concluded: “Avery Berkel and Hanshow aimed to revolutionise the shopping experience by making sustainable choices more accessible and engaging for customers. The shopper interface, designed to be simple and intuitive, ensures that even customers unfamiliar with this technology can easily navigate and participate.
“The collaboration among Asda, Avery Berkel and Hanshow has led to a total solution that not only benefits the retail industry and its customers, but also provides a green solution and encourages more environmentally friendly retail practices and shopping habits. Consumer demand for sustainable retail will continue to grow in the future.”
NAM Implications:
- A way of providing a means of true like-with-like comparison.
- And if transparent unit pricing could be added…
- …this would be a real leap forward vs rivals.
- Watch this space…
