RFID Powers Interactive Display

Lincoln, Neb. -- New technology introduced by Nanonation enables a shopper to select a product from a shelf and, simply by picking it up, have specific product information instantly displayed on a video screen. The information displayed can be text, pictures or diagrams, or an audio or video clip. Shoppers can also interact with the screen to drill down for additional information or send a request to the retailer.Using an RFID antenna attached to a store shelf and individual RFID transmitters, or tags, attached to the individual products on the shelf, Nanonation's proprietary software interprets the signal to determine exactly which product has been selected. It then displays the appropriate information on the screen. There are no buttons to be pushed and nothing to be activated. As soon as the shopper picks up an item, information about it appears on the screen. "Imagine walking into a cellular phone store," says Bradley Walker, Nanonation's CEO. "There are dozens of different phones on display and the sales staff probably doesn't know the difference between them, and even if they did, they don't have time to tell you about each and every one of them. With our technology, however, you could quickly and easily narrow down your choices on your own."The software is flexible. Different appeals can be tailored to different regions of the country, for example, or even to different stores in the same region. If other promotions are currently running, they can be tied to the information appearing on the screen. Shoppers can also interact with the system. If a shopper checking out a display of sweaters, for example, finds exactly the color and style she wants but her size is not in stock, she could order it directly from the display."The cost of the system depends on its complexity," Walker explains. "A typical system might require a 17-inch to 20-inch monitor, which is probably about $1,200 to $1,500, and let's say 20 RFID tags. Even with the proprietary software, the total cost would be only about $3,000 or $4,000."Once the system is in place, it requires no hands-on maintenance. If the information to be displayed requires changes, it can be programmed remotely. If retailers want to make changes themselves, the company provides them with Web-based tools.The system also provides valuable feedback to the retailer. It reports, for example, the number of times a specific piece of merchandise has been picked up, and the retailer can easily coordinate this information with sales data to calculate a conversion rate. If different promotions are used in different stores, conversion rates for each can be calculated to measure their relative effectiveness."RFID technology has traditionally been relegated to controlling backroom inventory," says Walker. "What we are doing is expanding it to customer-facing applications. The system is practical and affordable for any number of products and categories from CDs to power tools to skis and snowboards. It can also be profitable because it allows the retailer to personally link the customer, product information and brand experience at the point-of-purchase."

RFID Powers Interactive Display

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