The Internet of Things is fast becoming one of the emerging technology concepts in retail, as proven at this week’s NRF show in New York.
At the US National Retail Federation ‘BIG Show’ in New York this week, WestRock and T+ink are introducing smart shelves and pegs using Intel’s Quark processors. Trials of these smart shelves and smart pegs will be available in the second quarter, and general availability is expected later this year.
These smart shelves and pegs include printed electronic sensors and use Intel’s Quark processors for Internet of Things (IoT) to feed real-time information to retailers on stock levels to identify out of stock items and reduce theft.
The shelves will have electronic labels, so merchandisers can dynamically price products according to stock levels, sales figures, and promotions. They integrate low cost technology and stock level tracking to provide a display solution to better serve customers.
The Intel Quark SoC X1000 is a low-power and secure System on a Chip (SoC), which is designed to reduce development costs for IoT endpoint devices. Using T+ink’s conductive ink, WestRock’s shelves and pegs, and Intel’s Quark processor, the Smart Retail System connects to the cloud using Intel-powered gateways to offer real-time information to store systems and employees.
T+ink’s COO Wayne Nemeth said: “This is one of the most powerful IoT solutions invented for retail, and one of the first solutions that provides inventory visibility at a shelf level and senses customer interactions with individual products. The benefits are significant, including inventory optimisation, inventory loss prevention, and the capture of valuable information about consumer behaviour.”
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