"Application of the Decade"
2010-05-19 10:10, Edited at: 2010-06-11 12:58Please note: Community posts are written by its members and not by Redeye’s research department. As a reader you’re always encouraged to critically analyze the content.
Från igår:
http://displaydaily.com/2010/05/18/are-esls-the-volume-display-app-of-the-decade/
They are not sleek and sexy, nor do they offer web access, multi-touch input or even color, but a new generation of electronic shelf labels (ESL’s) have the potential to create an entirely new category of display, and revolutionize the shopping experience on a global level-as the truly "volume display application" of the decade.
Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor
This according to Nils Hulth, research VP at Pricer Group, a Swedish-based maker of the new technology using electrophoretic displays (EPH) like those in e-Book readers. According to Hulth, who will present at the upcoming SID Business Conference next week, his company already has a 60% market share in this space, selling 75M labels to over 5400 stores in 40 countries. But it’s the upside that has this segment of the display industry buzzing. Pricer says market penetration is currently between 1% and 2% with grocery as the major segment, requiring between 100 and 100K labels per store. And we’ve just begun to scratch the surface.
ESL’s are not a new idea. With massive labor savings as the incentive (mostly coming from re-pricing goods on the shelf) retailers have been looking at digital display technology for a long time. But it may just be that the planets are aligning for the technology with long lived (bi-stable) e-Paper displays, wireless connectivity to the network and good enough battery life, bringing the technology to the cusp of major adoption.
Some of the other critical requirements of ESL’s according to Hulth include:
* Cost: $2 per label in mass volumes
* Minimum display life of 7 years
* Low power consumption (220 mAh, 3V battery lasting 7 years or 50K updates)
* Low temperature capability (for freezer use at -20 degrees F)
* Larger active areas (provide higher value )
You can add wide viewing angle, shock resistance and good contrast in most all lighting conditions to this list, according to one of Pricer’s several EPH display suppliers, Freemont, CA based SiPix Imaging Inc. All are achievable with the technology today. Another feature offered by SiPix is the use of color. Not in the traditional RGB displays we are used to seeing, but the company does offer monochrome color and "area color" displays, the latter using different electronic ink colors combined with colored backgrounds to bring emphasis to the digital sign.
And while for Pricer, most penetration for the technology is currently in Europe (and Japan), leading US big box retailer Costco is included in the on-line client list for the company.
Managing thousands, even hundreds of thousands of items within a local supermarket was never an easy task. While the stocking, ordering and the occasional "clean-up on isle 7" will still be with us for some time to come, get ready for one thing to change in the coming decade as the electronic shelf label upgrade is surely on its way to a store near you. - Steve Sechrist