Consumers who purchase cereal at the Walmart Supercenter on Walnut Street in Rogers will encounter a new iteration of electronic shelf labels (ESL) that make toll adjustments automatically as dictated past store management. Information technology is one of two digital shelf characterization technologies existence tested by the retail giant in Northwest Arkansas.

At Walmart Supercenter on Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers, the breadstuff and baked goods alley also has digital shelf labels that await more like the newspaper version.

Walmart said this is a small test in concert with help from an outside partner. Walmart officials told Talk Concern & Politics the company is testing ii dissimilar types of shelf labels for the same concept which is to see if electronic shelf labels tin be controlled through programming as apace every bit toll changes. The Pleasant Grove Route Supercenter is testing the electronic shelf labels to see if it saves time for employees and tin provide accurate, real-fourth dimension pricing for customers.

"In an ideal environment, ESLs would communicate with other technologies in the shop," Walmart corporate spokesman Ragan Dickens said.

He said the store often tests new technology applications to see if it's viable for the remainder of the business concern. He said the company is also looking to test ESL technology in a Neighborhood Market store to see if it's right for the smaller shop format.

Walmart is also testing another version of electronic shelf labels on the bread aisle at Shop No. 5260 at Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers. This technology is expected make prices changes easier and more accurate.

The labels on the staff of life aisle at the Supercenter on Pleasant Grove Road are private tags that would embrace the price of a larger shelf area of merchandise like bread. The other style of labels in Shop No. 100 are designed for densely populated shelves with multiple items and fast-moving products, according to Dickens.

Talk Business & Politics spoke with store workers at the Walnut Street Supercenter as they were stocking the cereal aisle. The electronic shelf labels are affixed to shelf fronts. The fronts of these digital labels hang downward twice as long as the traditional shelf front. This wider front end restricts the shelf infinite upwardly to 2 inches. Ane worker said the labels arrive harder to stock the larger boxes of cereal that hang upwards on the shelf overhang. He said the boxes fit on the shelf simply they accept to go in at an angle. He said customers as well take a harder fourth dimension removing larger boxes.

The digital tags exercise have a QR Lawmaking that if activated could provide shoppers using the Walmart app with more information virtually the product such every bit nutrition, how ingredients were sourced or perhaps a promotional coupon.

Bryce Paden, co-founder of i2i Labs in Rogers, said his firm has feel with ESL use. He said electronic shelf labels have been in retail since the late 90s, but new forms of engineering and pressure to create new retail experiences take more companies testing them. Paden said there are 2 big form factors for the engineering being tested correct now.

"One form is 3-color due east-ink displays. These often feature displays equally you lot would notice on an east-book. They can either be blackness and white text, or have 3 colour options – red, yellowish and black. These systems are typically bombardment powered and near resemble current paper price labels you would meet on a shelf," Paden added.

He said in that location has been recent growth in making the entire shelf edge digital, non just the toll labels.

"The Walmart test in [the Walnut Street Supercenter] is a proficient example of this engineering. This form factor includes an LED strip mounted over the unabridged length of the shelf edges. Since this technology used LED strips, they are full-color, and they can do things like play ads, show product reviews, and more," Paden said.

Insiders said Walmart previously tested ESLs in the general trade area of a few stores. One problem reported with those early tests was consistent connectivity within some areas of the store. There was also a written report of the tags non allowing a price-change to be made.

Some store workers said if electronic shelf labels work every bit they are supposed to information technology would be a time saver for department managers who sometimes spend an unabridged shift on making price changes subsequently a rollback promotion. The electronic labels would take to be durable, given the abuse the shelves take from client carts and routine wear and tear in a heavily trafficked shop.

Paden said common hurdles for the retail industry using ESL has been battery life. He said applied science is improving and could accelerate the adoption of ESL technology.

Walmart competitor Kroger recently partnered with Microsoft to examination digital shelf labels in a shop in Cincinnati and one near Microsoft in Redmon, Launder. This exam involves the two stores existence filled with digital shelf labels that also accept image recognition cameras. A customer can scan the QR Lawmaking into their smartphone and access promotional information, nutritional and dietary data. Kroger's Microsoft Edge Shelf labels will also let shoppers to connect to the retailer's Scan, Handbag, Go service.

Walmart abased its scan and go tests concluding yr, but Sam's Club receives positive consumer reviews from the convenience its skip-the-checkout service provides members.