News

Retail Systems: New on-cart kiosk unveiled at show

NEC's SmartLocator can deliver location-sensitive marketing and product information throughout grocery and retail stores.

May 22, 2006

CHICAGO - NEC has unveiled a new self-service grocery and retail solution, the SmartLocator, for the first time in America.

The solution combines an on-cart touchscreen and infrared transmitters to deliver in-store, location-based product information and marketing messages to shoppers. NEC exhibited it at Retail Systems 2006 Conference & Exposition at Chicago's McCormick Place, which continues through May 24.

Users can scan their loyalty cards on the carts' NEC data terminals. Infrared sensors, which can be battery-powered or mounted on and powered by stores' existing fluorescent light bulbs, would be located throughout the store, telling the cart what information to display from place to place depending on what products are nearby.

"Right now (NEC is) doing field trials," NEC marketing manager Stewart Campbell said. "They're still in the development phase."

The system compares the user's buyer history to the store's inventory database, which alerts the shopper of sales throughout the store. NEC is still expanding the software package, which currently includes the ability to look up and locate products anywhere in the store. At Retail Systems, NEC representatives demonstrated the system using infrared sensors around their booth to market groceries in their fictitious "NEC Mart."

Campbell said the system also allows timed marketing announcements.

"If it's close to closing time and you want to push certain content in certain categories, it will facilitate that," Campbell said.

NEC markets the system as a cost-effective alternative to similar RFID solutions. The data terminals cost $2,499 to $2,999. The battery-powered infrared sensors cost $50,000 for a set of 50, with a server.