Electronic Shelf Labels, Delivery Services Among Next Initiatives for These Hardware Store Tech Leaders

Electronic shelf labels increasingly are popular at hardware stores.

By Craig Webb

Three hardware store tech leaders Feb. 4 put electronic shelf labels (ESLs), delivery services, and online and operational advances high on their lists of planned improvements this year. But they also stressed that the most important item on their lists was to actually do something.

"You've gotta keep forging ahead and never settle," said Scott Jerousek, CEO of Wellington, OH-based Farm and Home Hardware.

"I would be more scared of inaction than of taking action," added Jeremy Peterson, owner of Family Hardware in Cape Coral, FL.

Jerousek and Peterson were featured Feb. 4 at Orgill's 19th annual Technology Symposium. The event also featured Eric Hassett owner of the San Francisco Bay Area's Hassett Hardware, who already is using electronic price tags and robots that scan the shelves for missing and misplaced inventory.

Dan Tratensek, COO of the North American Hardware & Paint Association, said a recent survey of hardware stores for NHPA found 80% of respondents saying they plan investments this year to improve their online services. Fifty percent planned more digital marketing, 43% will invest in point-of-sale upgrades, 21% will invest in store communications systems, and 14% will buy electronic shelf labels.

Peterson called ESLs "a great value proposition for cutting staff hours," while Jerousek said the technology rapidly is getting more palatable financially. (Orgill now has a deal with Vusion to offer the devices at a discount.) Switching to ESLs eliminate the hours that employees now spend adding and replacing paper price tags. They also can display more information, such as quantities on hand and quantities on order. And the price can be changed for special events, like a Ladies' Night featuring discounts, or when the hardware store needs to adjust its price to compete better with the big box down the road.

While Jerousek and Peterson said they are exploring whether to begin delivering products--possibly working with services like DoorDash, which has a partnership with Ace Hardware--Hassett already does deliveries. So he's putting money into next-generation in-store communications systems.

"We tested several and we’ve picked a solution going forward," Hassett said. "We’re beyond basic radio. Our communicators let you answer the phone in your ear, they can communicate with another store, they can communicate one-on-one. The goal is cut down the amount of garbage… and it sets us up for future integrations,” such as notifying staff if a customer arrives for curbside pickup.

All three stressed the need to clean up your data before starting into ESLs, online improvements, and artificial intelligence systems. Some of that help can come from Orgill, through the data it feeds to its members.

Orgill CEO Boyden Moore said one of the distributor's goals is to help dealers "fight scale disadvantage" when competing with the big boxes. One way Orgill does that is by experimenting with new technology at its Central Network Retail Group subsidiary, particularly the Germantown Hardware store near Orgill's Memphis, TN, headquarters. That's where Orgill tested two ESL systems.

Last December, Orgill hired Sharmeelee "Sharms" Bala as its new Chief Digital and Information Officer. Bala has spent over 20 years at retailers such as JCPenney, Gap, and Walmart. Bala said she envisions a future in which Orgill customers will have, thanks to the distributor, a "pluggable infrastructure" in which they can pick from an array of tech improvements.