Global Electronic Shelf Labels Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Global Industry Analysis: By Component (Display, Batteries, Transceivers, Microprocessor, Others), By Communication Technology (Radio Frequency, Infrared, near-field Communications, and Others), By Application (LCDs, E-paper Display, Graphic E-paper Display) and Region Forecast 2020-2031

Electronic Shelf Labels Market size was valued at US$ 1,180 million in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 2,310 million by 2031 at a 9.9% CAGR from 2025-2031. Moreover, the U.S. Electronic Shelf Labels Market is projected to grow significantly, reaching an estimated value of US$ 690 million by 2031.

The Global Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) market is being irrevocably changed as retailers and supply chain managers use real-time, dynamic pricing as a strategic initiative rather than merely as an upgrade to logistics. ESL systems are no longer merely static digital price labels they are now integral parts of the broad push towards intelligent retailing. With increasing labor costs, inventory fluctuation, and higher call for price accuracy on omnichannel platforms, ESLs provide a solution that treats operational agility and consumer confidence. From supermarket shelves to high-end showrooms, retail establishments are using ESLs to close the physical-digital gap, facilitating the capability to make instant adjustments, experience central management, and achieve greater uniformity in communicating price, promotion, and product information.

Driven by evolving consumer behaviour, as well as online-first retailing, ESL adoption is increasingly gaining momentum outside of established markets such as Europe and Japan. Emerging economies are increasingly adopting the technology to drive store productivity, minimize price mistakes, and craft engaging consumer experiences. Additionally, developments in low-power screens, wireless tech, and AI-based inventory management have launched ESLs into smart retail infrastructure instead of standalone hardware solutions. Merchants are coming to see ESL investment as something beyond a measure of saving, but rather as an engine for data-driven merchandising, demand planning, and sustainability. As the retail environment is becoming more experiential and adaptive, the ESL market can be both an efficiency enabler and a driver of future-proof retail intelligence.

Facts & Figures

• They are framing ESLs as strategic infrastructure, rather than electronic price tags. ESLs drive real-time pricing, streamline compliance, and build integrated customer experiences across physical and digital channels reshaping their purpose from cost-saving tools to driving smart retail transformation.
• Next-generation ESLs are tackling design and energy smarts, with e-ink display technology, multi-colour visibility, and ultra-low energy use providing up to 10-year battery life and rich content value for promotions, inventory status, and product stories.
• Adoption has moved beyond hypermarkets and food retailers. Fashion stores, electronics, and home improvement specialty stores are using ESLs for real-time promotion, multi-language product data, and real-time accurate inventory levels expanding the relevance of the market to other retail verticals.

Key Developments

• In June 2025, E Ink, in association with Realtek Semiconductor, launched its second-generation System-on-Panel (SoP) ESL reference design. This technology shrinks TFT size by 30% and FPC dimensions by 50%, leading to thinner and more flexible ESLs that are better suited for today's retail formats.
• In June 2025, the introduction of ESLs in healthcare is a major industry trend, with solutions such as ESL+ transcending the confines of traditional retail to enable intelligent, point-of-use inventory management in hospitals and clinical environments.
• In June 2025, Tecsys Inc. introduced ESL+, a next-generation ESL system with a focus on healthcare. ESL+ provides real-time visibility of inventory at the shelf, allowing supply chain professionals and clinicians to track, reorder, and manage medical supplies with greater accuracy and agility.

Electronic Shelf Labels Market Segmentation

Based on the component:

•  Displays
• Batteries
• Transceivers
• Microprocessors
• Others

Displays constitute the most important component of any electronic shelf label system since they serve as the customer to retailer primary interface of electronic shelf labels. Of all the hardware components, display modules determine the visual clarity, power efficiency, and information flexibility of ESLs. Emerging displays particularly those e-ink or reflection LCD technology-based are now being designed in such a way that they produce high contrast, multi-color images while operating at very low power consumption. Innovation in display technology is an organic byproduct of the value proposition of the shelf label and impacts the way promotions, prices, stock alerts, and indeed product data are being conveyed in real time. As operational ease and customer experience become more important to retailers, investments in increasingly intuitive and graphic-rich display components drive the hardware innovation curve.

Based on the communication technology:

•  Radio Frequency
• Infrared
• Near-field Communications
• Others

Radio Frequency (RF) technology leads in the world of communications in ESL systems because it is scalable, reliable, and extends coverage. In contrast to infrared or NFC implementations, RF allows for centralized control of thousands of shelf labels within massive retail environments without line-of-sight and is thus best suited for large supermarkets, warehouses, and multi-aisle stores where real-time price changes, promotions, and inventory messages need to be pushed out effectively. RF protocols also support bi-directional communication, where ESLs can send acknowledgments or error messages to the central system, thereby improving accuracy and system reliability. As the retail infrastructure becomes increasingly automated, RF is the only technology that provides unparalleled operation flexibility and network robustness.

 Based on the application:

•  LCDs
• E-paper Displays
• Graphic E-paper Displays

Supermarkets and hypermarkets represent the majority of ESL usage, fueled by frequency prices, promo speed, and inventory transparency on tens of thousands of SKUs. Format retailers in these markets will have probably encountered dynamic pricing opportunities, seasonal promotions, and perishables—all of which require shelf-level accuracy in real-time. ESLs abolish hand labeling, lower pricing mistakes, and enable chain-wide changes to be implemented in a flash, to the benefit of operational effectiveness as well as customer confidence. In addition, as ESLs increasingly integrate into inventory systems and analytics platforms, there is potential for supermarkets to have more comprehensive visibility into stock, shopper behavior, and replenishment requirements reaffirming ESLs as a strategic asset in driving margin and loyalty.