Shenzhen Enrich Electronics Co.,Ltd

According to the forecast data of Qunzhi Consulting, global shipments of ESL (electronic tags) will reach 100 million pieces in 2018, an increase of 18% year-on-year. Qunzhi Consulting believes that with the arrival of new global retail trends and the intelligent trend of factories, warehousing and enterprise management, ESL display panel shipment growth is an inevitable trend.

ESL has significant advantages for new retail

ESL is an electronic label, which is usually composed of a display module, a control panel and a battery, and replaces the traditional paper label; it is generally used in retail industries such as unmanned supermarkets, stores, pharmacies, etc., and can also be used in smart factories and warehouses. Compared with traditional paper labels, it has the advantages of high efficiency, low error rate, low labor cost and high intelligence, which is more suitable for the development of new retail industry.

ESL shows a variety of technology types, different strengths and weaknesses

Due to the special requirements of ESL use scenes, the requirements for display panels are more inclined to ultra-low power consumption, ultra-low cost, stable display, etc. Currently, there are four types of ESL display technologies on the market: segment code, Bistable, Eink and fully reflective display panels. From the comparison of the display effects of several technology types, Eink and total reflection are optimal, the bistable is centered, and the segment code is weak; while the cost advantage is the lowest segment code, the bistable is centered, and Eink is the most expensive. .

ESL needs to seek new profit model

As mentioned above, ESL and paper labels compete in the same format. The two are alternatives. Compared with paper labels, ESL is bound to be unable to circumvent cost competition. The pressure can be imagined. Therefore, the ESL machine factory is facing severe cost pressures. Qunzhi Consulting believes that the breakthrough direction is the new business model. In addition to the traditional way of selling the whole machine, the ESL machine factory can seek new business models, such as: leasing and charging service fees to put the whole machine into supermarkets, shopping malls and other places.

Qunzhi Consulting believes that under the new retail trend, today's offline retail is still promising, and the global ESL market has unlimited potential, which is undoubtedly a new opportunity for the panel industry, especially a-Si panel makers.

Global ESL shipments and year-on-year growth rate from 2014 to 2018 (unit: 100 million units, %)