Morrisons is preparing to add a flashing-light product locator to its electronic shelf labels, giving shoppers a new way to find products inside stores.
The feature will connect Morrisons’ digital shelf-edge labels with its mobile app. When a customer searches for an item and activates the locator, the relevant shelf label will blink to show where the product is positioned.
The technology is expected to begin operating in the coming weeks at more than 200 Morrisons stores that already use electronic shelf labels, before a wider rollout across the supermarket estate.
The development extends Morrisons’ investment in digital shelf-edge technology beyond automated price changes. Electronic labels can also support stock management and store operations by giving staff a digital connection to individual shelf positions.
For supermarket operators, product-location tools are becoming another potential use case for electronic shelf labels. Walmart has previously developed similar shop-to-light functionality in the US, demonstrating how the infrastructure can be used for navigation as well as pricing.
The move comes as Morrisons works to strengthen its UK supermarket performance. The retailer reported this week that like-for-like sales increased 3.2% in its third quarter, compared with growth of 2.2% in the previous quarter.
Total sales reached £4.1 billion during the 13 weeks to 26 July. Morrisons said supermarkets, convenience, online, pharmacy and its Myton manufacturing operations all contributed to the performance.
The flashing-label rollout will provide a further test of whether electronic shelf infrastructure can improve the in-store customer experience as retailers invest more heavily in connected stores.
