Dan Murphy's to expand electronic shelf labels after trial

Liquor chain Dan Murphy’s is set to expand its use of electronic shelf labels in the next financial year, as it revealed the scope and high-level results seen from a trial of the technology.

The labels have embedded near field communication (NFC) technology that allows customers to tap their phone to get more information or access customer reviews. 

The shelf-labelling technology is also known to be a data input for “creating planograms [layouts] for stores in the future,” owner Endeavour Group has previously said.

In its inaugural sustainability report, Endeavour Group provided additional detail on the trial.

"An innovative electronic shelf labelling (ESL) trial underway in 17 Dan Murphy’s stores is delivering time and cost savings, as well as a reduction in paper usage,” the company said.

“On average, a Dan Murphy’s store will print out more than 2000 price tickets weekly. 

“ESL, powered by energy efficient, long-lasting battery systems replaces the paper based system, allowing for instant pricing and promotional update changeovers. 

“Further rollout of this technology is planned in FY23.”

The report also indicates a separate technology program involving Dan Murphy’s that uses unspecified analytics technology to understand energy consumption in stores.

“We continue to invest in a range of initiatives to optimise energy efficiency, with 50 Dan Murphy’s stores connected to an Energy Management Centre (EMC) which monitors and manages consumption,” the company said.

“The EMC provides real-time visibility of store energy usage and allows the optimisation of consumption through data and analytics.”

Cyber security review

Endeavour Group was spun out of Woolworths Group in 2021, and the sustainability report offers the first indications of how the group is treating cyber security and privacy operations.

Endeavour Group said that phishing and credential theft are its top cyber security concerns.

It pointed to a recent external audit - in the FY22 financial year - of its cyber security team, indicating that maturity scores in certain areas were pleasing.

In FY22, the cyber security team was the subject of an external audit, providing insight into the maturity of the function and the services they provide,” Endeavour Group said.

“Cyber security risk management was rated 4.5 out of five for maturity and the malware defence capability was rated four out of five, ratings usually experienced in far more mature functions.”

The company said in FY21 that it had also engaged PwC to conduct a privacy review that had “identified some key focus areas”.

“Agreed actions have been remediated as part of an overall privacy framework build that includes the training of all team members, refreshed regularly,” the company said, without elaborating.

“Privacy impact assessments and responsible use of data assessments are conducted for new processes and systems with a focus on embedding privacy by design across the data lifecycle.”

Endeavour Group reported flat year-on-year group sales for FY22 at $11.6 billion but a $495 million net profit after tax, up 11.6 percent year-on-year.

The company said its investments in digital and in standalone "technology platforms that are future-focused and flexible" would also help it to succeed.