Retail Technology!

Last week I was picking up some supplies at an Office Depot in Boca when I noticed an everyday retail icon had received a fresh techno makeover; the price tag!

That's right, the price tag was a digital screen which displayed the price, product identification information and a sale indicator if the item was on sale. I asked a sales person if it was RF-ID, yes, I know, super geeky question to ask a random sales person, but to my chagrin he nodded whilest pointing over his shoulder to a transmitter mounted to the ceiling. Apparently this Office Depot location was a test store for this system. This is pretty sensible given their proximity to the corporate office.


He mentioned how he thought the system was pretty slick the way it updated and stayed current with the ads all by itself. He also said that he was going to jump on the stock of the manufacturer, a company by the name of Pricer.

I think the implications of a system like this are pretty awesome. Already retail locations loose money every day by not having the most current prices on their products. Companies like Walmart routinely change the price of their products to remaim competitive as well as to maximize profit. Prices are different depending on the demographic and it's all electronically controlled...except for the price tag.

Even if Pricer isn't the one to do it, I bet this technology becomes mainstream very soon.

Update
So, it seems that Pricer has announced that they have a pilot program with Office Depot. I've checked the Pricer website and have been unable to find a press release, however Sven in the comments points this out and my blog has been receiving record traffic. I'll go ahead and assume he's correct. I'll clarify and answer some questions from the comments.

Their technology is NOT RF-ID. Rather, it's "diffuse IR" which appears to be a flavor of the regular old infrared technology we all know and love. The major difference is this version can bounce off of most anything which eliminates the need for the line of sight requirement. I've read the site and looked at their photos. The transceiver looks identical to what I saw that day in the store, of which there is a photo above.

The store appears to have 100% been converted from paper price tags to pricer wireless ones. From the software down to the pens at the cash wrap, it's all wireless Pricer tags. The staff at the store even seemed enthusiastic about having the new technology in their store.