At the end of the last century, electronic price tags appeared. At that time, the displays of these devices had a high cost, so not everyone could purchase them. But already in 2003, the Moscow NCR hypermarket set these price tags for itself; this was the first attempt by Russian companies to introduce these devices. It was believed that given the wide range of services this company offers, it managed to create one of the world's largest installations of these devices.
Story
The very first electronic price tags, which appeared more than twenty years ago, had many technological inaccuracies. They could fail quickly enough, and besides, they worked on batteries, which could not maintain the device’s performance for a long time. Therefore, the staff had a lot of work, because you had to go around the store over and over and check the serviceability of these price tags. Updating their prices was rather slow, which also brought inconvenience. Due to these shortcomings, at that time they were not widely used among retail chains.
But over time, thanks to the development of technologies, the cost of these devices has significantly decreased, and the developers are constantly improving their invention, making it high-quality and efficient. Therefore, many stores have become more attentive to price tags, because they have many advantages. Today, electronic price tags, the price of which is much lower, have become much more useful, and their use is more rational.
Firstly, the prices of goods on a shelf always coincide with its value at the checkout. In addition, the entire process of changing the cost of a product is fully automated. Soon, software began to appear that allowed you to use more advantages of this product, so attention to price tags increased every year. At the moment, millions of retailers use these devices and do not regret that they have an electronic price tag system.
Device benefits
The main advantage of using these electronic devices is that the prices of goods will be the same as in the trading floor, at the checkout, in real time. This really saves both time and manpower, because you do not have to constantly rewrite the price tags, saving on them, and employees do not have to change the amount on each product. In other words, at no cost, the entire price management system in the store is automated. After all, the average rate of price replacement on such a device is 30 thousand changes per hour. One keystroke is enough to change the cost of a product in each store.
In addition, using electronic price tags, store employees can instantly set promotions and optimize prices based on the recommendations of marketers. In addition, the quality of customer service is improved, which makes them more loyal to the institution that has introduced automated systems. In this case, the buyer can have no doubt that the price tag matches the value at the checkout. Indeed, now many consumers are faced with such a problem that they take the goods at the same price, and at the checkout it can be much higher. Therefore, the use of automated systems attracts customers, and they will return to this store again, knowing that here they will not have to face similar problems. Reduces the time to let the client go at the checkout, so employees can let go of more people in a shorter period.Therefore, the length of the queue and the time for its maintenance are reduced. At the same time, operating expenses are markedly reduced. And this, in turn, allows you to spend less on paper, printing equipment and accessories for it, on the delivery of price tags to the store, and also reduces labor costs. We can say that electronic price tags in Russia are quite useful not only for stores, but also for consumers.
The benefits of using electronic price tags for stores
It is also worth noting. That process optimization leads to better staff work. For example, if a paper price tag is fixed, then an employee may put up another product in place of the finished product. And it turns out that people who are looking for a product missing from the trading floor will no longer make a purchase. Electronic price tags, on the other hand, occupy a certain place, and therefore such situations can simply no longer arise.
In other words, the absence of the goods will be quickly noticed and its deficiency filled in time. This will help not to lose on sales due to careless staff.
Additional benefits
It is worth noting that in the electronic price tags there is an additional memory to fill in other information. This may include the location of the product, this will undoubtedly allow more quickly and efficiently make the arrangement of products. You can also enter the quantity of goods remaining in the warehouse, the date of delivery of the product, if it has ended, and much more. In addition, price tags are not tied to one place, and if the store decided to make a redevelopment, it will be very simple to move them along with the products.
Electronic devices and their role in the store revenue management strategy
One of the most important roles in retail management is revenue management. This means that the store management is trying to choose a certain price at a particular point in time that can bring maximum benefits from the sale of the product. For the first time this strategy was applied in the USA, it was used by airlines to fill all the seats on the plane, taking into account that tickets were sold at the highest prices. In retail, such a policy helps to maximize the preservation of income during promotions and sales, as well as to prevent premature reduction in the price of goods and without delay to return the original price after its reduction. Thanks to electronic price tags, this strategy is carried out as quickly as possible and allows you to reduce store losses to a minimum. If paper price tags are used, then buyers have more time to purchase cheaper goods, while the staff is busy changing prices, because no employee will be able to quickly change all prices at the same time. Through the use of electronic price tags, the store will be able to instantly sell any stock and keep up with competitors. 
Indeed, if a person visits them first and then to a store that has not yet changed prices, he will notice for himself that products in a competitor’s store are cheaper, and the next time he will probably make a purchase from them, thinking that the cost of production in these establishments different.
Additional device features
Using electronic price tag systems, you can not only instantly change prices or analyze product sales. They can be used to send messages to staff. For example, it can be a signal that it is time to put this or that product on the shelf or a message about how much goods are left in the warehouse, and that it is time to order it.
You can also communicate with the buyer, for example, here you can display messages about discounts that the client will receive if he has a store loyalty card. Due to the ability of these electronic devices to store in their memory a lot of different information, you can use them for a variety of purposes,which will increase store revenue and optimize staff work. In addition, the system can issue messages depending on certain parameters, for example, in time frames.
Technological data
Basically, electronic price tags are managed using a server with the necessary software installed on it and a communication system that allows updating information directly on the device itself. 
It is worth noting that after an employee changes the price, it will automatically change on the device itself.
Communication system options
Basically, electronic price tags, the cost of which is acceptable, receive all the necessary information through the infrared range, but low-frequency and ultra-high radio waves can also be used. In extreme cases, a wired connection or store alert system is used. The disadvantage of the latter option is that the system will not be able to send a report on price changes. As for low-frequency communication, it works more slowly than other means of communication. Regarding the infrared range, the disadvantage of the system is that it can only be controlled from a visible distance. Wires limit the movement of devices, and the range of products on which they can be installed is also limited.
What is the best way to introduce electronic price tags
Based on the above disadvantages, we can conclude that the most optimal and profitable system of managing electronic price tags is one in which a high range of work. It does not have the disadvantages of other communication systems, and works great offline. In this case, the installation of electronic price tags will not affect the trade and work of personnel. That is, the price tags can be easily moved, they automatically report changes on the screen, perfectly receive all the signals.
