News

As a veteran in the electronic price tag industry, MingFine Electronic has seen countless retailers struggle with this issue. Data speaks volumes: A 2023 report from the China Chain Store & Franchise Association shows that supermarkets using electronic price tags reduce labor costs for price changes by an average of 37%. However, the initial hardware investment is approximately 80-120 yuan per square meter. Is this a worthwhile investment?

The cost-saving logic behind electronic price tags is simple: no more hiring people to change paper labels daily. Auchan China has released data showing that after retrofitting 200 stores, they saved 5.6 million yuan in labor costs annually. But don't rush to place an order. A domestic convenience store chain complained about system instability, causing some items to frequently revert to their original prices, increasing operational costs.

Current electronic price tag technology has evolved to 2.4GHz and LoRa dual-mode communication. For example, the solution we developed for Wumart allows for simultaneous price changes on over 100,000 labels in just 12 seconds. However, supermarkets in mountainous areas should be aware that signal attenuation can reach 30% in areas with heavy metal shelving, a pitfall many of our competitors have encountered.

Environmental protection is a bonus. Tesco UK revealed that after fully switching to electronic price tags, each store used 230,000 fewer sheets of paper annually. But honestly, the paper savings likely don't even cover the electricity costs of a single base station, making it unrealistic to expect this to pay for itself.

What's the most practical advice? Supermarkets over 2,000 square meters can consider this, but smaller stores should wait. The current industry average return on investment is 2.3 years. Technology is changing so rapidly that equipment purchased last year may be outdated this year. The worst case we've seen involved a fresh produce store where the manufacturer went bankrupt right after the installation, effectively bricking the system.