New Innovations in Retail: Combining LCD and E-Paper Displays
Have you seen the little electronic tags that display prices in stores? Some tags look like the screens of e-readers, while others look like little screens that can show videos. One type, the e-ink display tags, use less energy while looking less flashy.
The other type, the LCD display tags, use more energy but look more colorful. These two tags have been independently used in stores. That is about to change.
While this may sound strange, when you think about the retail hypermarket operations and the challenges they face, a combination e-paper and LCD display is the most sensible solution https://www.zhsunyco.com/ro/lcd-display/ .
A Dual Personality at The Shelf Edge: What Practical Problem Does It Solve?
Large scale retail, and for that fact all retail, has always had a duality of purpose that is at odds with one another. On the one end you have operations and compliance which demands processes to be more accurate, streamlined and automated. On the other you have marketing and experience which demands that the experience be more engaging and more impactful through the use of more flexibility.
On the one hand, traditional e-paper tags provide the most retail compliance, but from a customer experience and operational efficiency perspective they provide nothing. Likewise traditional digital signage provides the most customer experience but from a retail compliance perspective are completely worthless.
This is a hybrid display that tries to serve both “bosses” at the same time.
Scenario One: While approaching the fresh meat counter.
The meat counter's e-paper reads, "Australian Grain-Fed Steak, ¥98.5/500g." As a shopper begins to view the selection, the LCD display begins a 15 second animation: the steak is shown sizzling in a pan, cut to reveal a perfect pink interior, and then served with roasted veggies. A text recommends, "Recommended pairing: Black Pepper Sea Salt, Aisle A, Shelf 3." The display info changes from a simple price to a more detailed cooking suggestion and a cross-selling opportunity.
Scenario Two: In the electronics aisle.
An e-paper display shows the model of the phone, the memory configuration, and their daily low price. When a customer touches the demo unit, the neighboring LCD screen turns on. Instead of repeating the price, it shows the specs of this phone's camera and compares it to another model, or it shows a real-world anti-shake test. It goes from being a price announcer to being an expert on the product.
Scenario Three: The promotional endcap.
On the endcap, all hybrid tags have their e-paper sections uniformly changed to the sale price. At the same time, the backend management system controls all of these tags’ LCD sections to display a synchronized “Weekend Sale” animation, complete with flashing lights, during the 6-8 PM peak on Friday evenings. This creates a highly visual focal point and transforms the endcap from being a static display to a dynamic advertising front.
It is most effective for placing advertisements precisely where the customer is looking to make a decision and placing the price on the tag instead of constructing large, distracting advertising screens on faraway pillars.
The most critical question here is: Where does the power come from?
The biggest selling point of e-paper solutions is the ultra long battery life; 5 years or more is normal. This advantage is seriously challenged by the introduction of an LCD. The charge will last longer or shorter depending on how often the LCD activates, the brightness, and the duration.
If designed to light up for only a few seconds when someone is approaching, a practical lifespan of a year or two might still be achieved. If it is designed to play videos constantly, the charge will need to be replaced or recharged in a matter of months. A supermarket managing tens of thousands of tags is battery maintenance a terrifying nightmare. This severely limits its application: it will only be suitable for "strategic shelves" where the customers stay longer, the product margins are high, and the dynamic content is worth the investment to drive a decision.
Declining costs, complexity. Two display systems, additional control circuitries, required sensors like infrared for people detection, etc. means a unit cost significantly higher than a standard e-paper tag. This cost needs to be offset by some marketing efficiencies, evident in improved ROI. Granular data needs to be captured to prove this offset. It is not easy. Did hybrid tags improve conversion rate for a product? Did average spend per customer increase?
Thirdly, the burden of managing such content. Updating prices is a well-known established workflow (from ERP to tag management system). Now, you need to create, manage, and schedule dynamic image or video content for thousands of individual touchpoints. This is a large ask for retailers and will require a digital content team and a more sophisticated scheduling and publishing system. For most retailers, their content production capability is still at the stage of creating monthly promotional flyers.
A Glimpse of the Future: What Direction Does It Point To?
The hybrid design presents a series of challenges, and, with no surprise, there are a multitude of solutions available. These solutions stand to offer significant advancements in the retail technology space. The hybrid design will act as a \"canary in the coal mine," signaling the development of key areas of retail technologies that need to be addressed.
To start with, the shelf conversation is evolving from a simple “information bulletin board” to an “interactive interface.” The shelf is attempting to go beyond a monologue stating, “This is what it is, and this is how much it costs.” The shelf is beginning to attempt a dialogue, in order to sculpt your preferences, feelings, and decisions. The hybrid display is the early stages of this type of interaction, and the possibilities for the “next level” could include: touch, scan (NFC/QR), and/or button feedback.
Second, technology is transitioning from “single-function optimization” to “scenario fusion.” Technology in the retail world has to merge a number of different functions, yet consumers shouldn’t be overwhelmed with a multitude of different screens. The hope is that one day we will experience “ultimate display technology” which is an innovative new material that is as energy efficient as e-paper, luminance as bright as LCD, and flexible as OLED. The interim period with hybrid technology is most like the flexibility that hybrid cars offered before widespread electric vehicles were offered to alleviate range anxiety.
Third, data-driven decision making will sink even lower to the frontline. If hybrid tags become standard, each activation of the LCD, each content played, could be paired with traffic and sales data. We may finally be able to determine whether a steak-cooking video in the wine section actually boosts sales of both products. Shelf marketing could be done without "gut feeling" marketing.
Suppliers such as Zhsunyco, which are focused on retail display hardware, are, based on the convergence trend, forced to rethink their technology roadmaps. Their challenge in the roadmaps is the imbalance for the “impossible triangle” of performance, power consumption, and cost, to provide products that retailers will be able to afford and able to manage such that they will get the results they want.
Conclusion: A Transitional State, Not the Final Answer
Therefore, the LCD and e-paper hybrid display is certainly not the final frontier of retail signage. Other options exist that have the same or lower complexity and cost. These hybrid displays are like touch screen mobiles with physical keyboards. A product of a specific time.
What B2B decision makers can do is set up some pilot projects for hybrid solutions. There is no need for a broad rollout for something like this. Decide on a few shelves and some categories. There are a lot of unknowns related to this “dual-personality” shelf communication. It will help companies gauge the difficulties of content creation and maintenance, estimate the real energy and cost implications, and the value.possibly determine the worth of the solution.
This pilot project can help companies determine how prepared their operations are for the next wave of display technology. It’s common to think that the technology is out of reach, but in reality, it is that the people and processes have not been optimized.
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