Global electronic shelf label (ESL) revenues will rise almost 600% over the next five years, claims ABI Research. Driven by the desire to operate ‘tightly integrated’ systems with ESLs, Bluetooth beacons, smartphone apps, mobile payments, digital coupons and NFC, retailers will drive revenues to almost $2 billion by 2019. ABI says that ESLs are a perfect starting point, as they bring a return on investment-based brick and mortar ‘bottlenecks’, while preparing the way for next-generation services.
The major ESL players are Pricer and SES, although Displaydata and Samsung are ’emerging threats’. Altierre has seen some success in the USA. There are also localised start-ups appearing, such as China’s Hanshow.
