RETAIL DISPLAY
Necessity is the mother of invention
Nigel Bell, chairman of the Adande Group of companies, examines the options available for energy effi cient retail display equipment.
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t is said that food retailing operations use approximately 2% of the UK’s total electricity consumption and refrigeration can account for over 50% of a store’s usage, depending upon shop format and size. As large consumers retailers have a part to play in achieving net zero emissions by 2050, but the jury is still out on how we get there. The incentives for more effi cient refrigerated display equipment have increased with higher energy prices and uncertainty over the security of supply.
In 2015 the EU Commission voted against the mandatory
fi tting of doors on open front, refrigerated displays, leaving the door open for the development of alternative energy saving technology.
Challenges prompt change Mankind has a track record of technical innovation in the face
of adversity. Some of the most rapid scientifi c advances have come during periods of confl ict and the threat of climate change will continue to prompt innovation. Take for instance the role of Tesla technology in accelerating the development of electric vehicles to reduce the impact of road transport on the environment. Retailers have been reluctant to employ cabinets with doors. Some have adopted doors before returning to open front cabinets after unhappy experiences. Indeed, if doors were the panacea they would have been universally adopted already. The trend with doors was temporarily slowed by the introduction of shelf edge technology, reinforcing retailers’ preference for open front cabinets. However, shelf edge technology has delivered only modest energy savings, which are insuffi cient in meeting net zero targets and signifi cant cost reductions. Retailers appear to accept the limitations of cabinets with doors but are being ‘forced’ to adopt them as the only option.
Cabinets with doors have signifi cant shortcomings impacting revenues, store layout and operating costs. They have high maintenance costs in terms of cleaning, repair and the replacement of damaged doors. Whilst cabinets with doors may work in stores with low volume sales, they are not suitable for busy stores with frequent door openings. BS EN ISO 23953, states that tests on cabinets with glass doors should be conducted with 10 door openings per hour with an opening/closing cycle of 15
20 February 2024 •
www.acr-news.com
seconds, but Orlandi et al (2013) claimed that the fi gure can reach 60 per hour in supermarkets and in 2011 EPEE and EUROVENT stated that some food retailers have registered up to 250 door openings per hour. Frequent door openings cause chilled air spillage with a consequent increase in temperature within the cabinet, making the refrigeration plant work harder to restore cabinet temperature and resulting in higher energy consumption. High visibility of goods and unfettered access to
merchandise for browsing and shopping is essential for grocery retailing and impulse purchases, which was confi rmed by our customer research at the stores of three leading retailers.
88% of customers thought the clear display of
merchandise was “very important”, whilst a further 11.4% of those thought it “important”. 50.3% of those questioned stated that they would prefer to shop from open front cabinets, with only 12% stating that they would rather shop from cabinets with doors. 49.1% of respondents believed it was “very inconvenient” or “inconvenient” to open doors and 42.5% said it was “very diffi cult” or “diffi cult” to do so whilst holding a shopping basket or trolley. 29.9% answered that
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Cabinets with doors have signifi cant shortcomings impacting revenues, store layout and operating costs.
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