Electronic shelf labels by sector
Electronic shelf labels in bookshops
Published by Keonex. Not affiliated with etiquetaselectronicas.com. Keonex is a manufacturer and implementer of electronic shelf labels. How we work and why we say so: methodology and transparency.
In the UK a book’s price is not fixed by law, so a bookshop can reprice freely, and electronic shelf labels have more to do here than in countries with fixed book prices. Even so, most titles stay at their recommended price for years. The return sits in promotions, stationery and gifts, not in the whole of the shelves.
Why books are a special case, and why the UK differs
Many European countries fix the price of books by statute: Spain and Germany both do. The UK used to have a private version of the same idea. Under the Net Book Agreement, publishers could stop shops from selling below the price they set. Large publishers broke ranks in 1995 and the agreement had effectively collapsed by the end of September that year, as the Law Society Gazette reported at the time. In March 1997 the Restrictive Practices Court formally held it contrary to the public interest (Concurrences).
Since then the printed price is a recommended retail price. A shop can charge more or less, run multi-buy offers, discount a bestseller for a fortnight or mark down a title it is overstocked on. In principle that is the situation electronic shelf labels were built for: many prices, changing often, across many positions.
In practice a bookshop’s range works against the pitch. A bookshop lives on breadth: thousands of titles, most of them selling slowly. The price of a backlist paperback changes when the publisher issues a new edition or reprices, which is rare. The frequent changes are concentrated in a few places, and those places decide whether labels pay.
Where price changes actually happen
| Area | How often prices move | Does a label help? |
|---|---|---|
| Promotion tables, front-of-shop offers | Weekly to monthly, in batches | Yes, if the offer rotates often and the table has many titles |
| Bestseller and new-release displays | Occasional, often tied to a campaign | Sometimes, depends on how many campaigns you run |
| Backlist on shelves | Rarely | Rarely worth it |
| Second-hand, remainders, bargain bins | Often, by age or condition | Possible, but needs the stock system to know the category |
| Stationery, cards, gifts, games | Seasonal, supplier-driven | Usually the clearest case |
What the figures can and cannot tell you
We did not find an independent UK study measuring what electronic shelf labels do for bookshop margins or labour, and we will not invent one. What is published is vendor material, which is written to sell. Treat any promise of percentage gains with caution until you have run the arithmetic on your own shop.
Where an electronic label can earn its place
Promotion tables. If a shop runs a “choose from this table” offer and rotates dozens of titles every few weeks, replacing paper tickets by hand is a repetitive job. A label that changes with the till price removes it and removes the risk of a stale ticket. The difference between shelf and till price is exactly the complaint a shopper raises at the till.
Stationery, cards and gifts. Free pricing, supplier changes and seasonal campaigns make this the section where the usual retail arguments apply. If it is a large share of turnover, it may justify the system on its own.
Information as well as price. A label has a screen. Some shops might use it for author, series or an indication of shelf location. That works only if the data exists: if your stock system keeps no location, or it is updated by hand once a month, the screen will show a mistake in neat type. Count how many titles are really where the system says before you buy anything.
Was/now prices. If you show a discount against a higher price, the comparison has to be fair. We found no fixed 30-day period in the UK legislation we read; a price comparison that gives a false impression can be caught by the misleading-actions provision in section 226 of the DMCC Act 2024, and the Price Marking Order 2004 governs how the selling price itself is shown. The EU rule is covered separately in the 30-day reference price page. Official guidance on reference pricing changes over time, so have a legal adviser confirm your policy before you configure it.
Where labels are hard to justify
A shelf of paperbacks is shelved spine out, in tight rows, and titles move constantly: a customer pulls one, a member of staff re-shelves it two bays along. A label fixed to a shelf rail does not follow the book. For a title whose price stays the same for a year, the cost of a label per position is hard to defend, and the shelf-edge strip is often narrow enough that the label size and the choice between e-paper and LCD becomes a real constraint.
Building the return case without fooling yourself
Split the shop into three lines before you ask for a quote.
- Titles that stay at the RRP. Savings from price changes are close to zero. Do not count them.
- Promotions, stationery and gifts. Count the price changes per year and the time each one takes by hand. This is the figure that can pay.
- Stock and location information. A real but indirect benefit: sales lost because a customer cannot find a title. Only measurable if you already record those enquiries.
A worked example, with numbers invented to show the method and nothing more: a shop rotates 60 titles on its promotion tables every month. That is 720 label changes a year. If each takes 30 seconds by hand, it comes to six hours. On its own that does not pay for an installation; the case holds only if labels also cover stationery, or if promotions are a large part of turnover. Put your own figures into the TCO calculator and compare renting with buying.
A small shop with a modest sideline and nearly all its business in books at their RRP probably has no case. A large store with a strong gift and stationery floor, or a chain running tight promotion cycles, may well have. Chains with mixed ranges will find the arithmetic closer to fashion or convenience retail.
Questions before you ask for a quote
- What share of my turnover comes from promotions, stationery and gifts?
- How many price changes do those lines see in a year, and how long does each take?
- Does my stock system hold shelf location, and is it reliable?
- What label size fits a narrow shelf edge or a small display?
- What happens to the labels when I rearrange the shop?
The sectors index lists the other kinds of shop and the different problems they bring.
Editorial note: we checked UK law at the level of the sources above. An adviser with local legal knowledge should confirm current text, particularly on reference pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Can a UK bookshop sell a book below the price printed on the cover?
Yes. The Net Book Agreement, which let publishers enforce minimum resale prices, was found contrary to the public interest by the Restrictive Practices Court in 1997. The price on the jacket is now a recommended retail price, and the shop decides what to charge. That makes the UK a very different case from countries with a statutory fixed book price, such as Germany or Spain.
Is a shelf label worthwhile for books if the shop discounts them?
Only for the books that actually move in price. In most bookshops that means promotion tables, bestseller displays and seasonal offers, not the thousands of backlist titles that sit at the RRP for years. A label on a title whose price never changes is a screen showing the same number for months.
Can electronic labels cover just the stationery and gift section?
Often that is the most sensible scope. Stationery, cards, games and gifts have free pricing, supplier changes and seasonal campaigns such as back-to-school. The decision should rest on your own number of price changes per year, not on a catalogue average.
Can I show a crossed-out "was" price on a discounted book?
Be careful. We found no fixed 30-day rule in the UK legislation we read, but a misleading price comparison can fall under the general ban on misleading actions in section 226 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. A recommended price printed on a jacket is not automatically a fair "was" price if hardly anyone ever paid it. Check current official guidance before you configure a comparison on a label.
Will a label help a customer find a book that is not on its shelf?
Not by itself. The label shows what the system sends it, not where the previous customer left the book. Showing a location needs shelf data in your stock system and a routine for keeping it accurate. The label is only a surface to display it on.
Sources
- Net Book Agreement ruled contrary to the public interest, Restrictive Practices Court, March 1997 (Concurrences)
- Book values: will the demise of the Net Book Agreement mean discounts on law texts? (Law Society Gazette, 29 November 1995)
- The Price Marking Order 2004 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 226 (misleading actions)
Work out the total cost of a project
A calculator with editable assumptions: labels, gateways, software, installation and a 60-month rental option. No vendor prices: you supply them.