Will Walmart’s New Light-Up Digital Shelf Labels Become a Mass Retail Mainstay, or a Gimmick?
Walmart has weighed in on the subject of digital shelf labels at length as of late – as RetailWire previously covered in a discussion around the company’s promise to never engage in dynamic pricing – and the latest news shows full-throttle backing of the new technology in novel ways.
And as CNBC’s Laya Neelakandan reported, Walmart is now engaging in a company-wide effort to roll out DSLs across all of its stores – alongside three distinct functionalities.
“The new feature for shoppers, called Shop to Light, allows customers to find specific products on the Walmart app, navigate to the correct aisle in the store and then flash the digital shelf label of the product to locate it. The retailer is now incorporating it widely following a pilot program,” Neelakandan noted.
“That tool is also paired with Pick to Light and Stock to Light, which use the same capabilities to help store associates pick items for digital orders and stock products. All three features will be rolled out to stores companywide by the holiday season, [Walmart SVP of digital transformation, Greg] Cathey said.
Flashing Labels Could Cut Serious Labor Hours, Shopper Frustration (or Fade Out)
Cathey would continue on to state that this AI-integration in tandem with DSLs would allow store associates to spend far less time in terms of stocking product or doing product picks for digital orders, giving them more opportunity to engage in face time with in-store customers.
Walmart has emphasized that DSLs are essentially the future of mass retail business operations, providing price transparency, consistency, and reducing the massive amount of man hours necessary to print, distribute, and pull traditional paper shelf tags.
If initial reports are to be believed, shoppers seem to be embracing the technology.
“While the company does not publicly share any financial aspects of the program, Cathey said the new features at pilot stores allow associates and customers to have more time while shopping and stocking. The Shop to Light feature has already seen 5 million flashes from customers since it began rolling out to limited locations this summer,” Neelakandan concluded.
Questions for further discussion:
Do you believe that the app-enabled flashing DSLs for both associates and shoppers will become a mass retail mainstay? Or is this more of an experiment or gimmick?
Has Walmart positioned itself as a leader beyond everyday low pricing, but on the tech side as well? Do you believe this is changing the perception of Walmart by the average consumer, or is it frippery?
Do you believe associates and customers will be as enthusiastic about the embrace of this technology as stated by corporate? Why or why not?