Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Digital Pricecard

LCD dpice cards for shop shelves
  (+4)
(+4)
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against]

By using LCD screens to display product prices (instead of cardboard):
Price changes would be instant and free (no printing costs or man power costs). Information on shelf layout and stocking quantities (amount on shelves) could be fed to the shelf packers directly. Information on actual product levels could be fed back into the shelf units to update the mainframe computer. Special offers and promotions could be dynamic (decided by computer). Animation could be added to attract additional attention and even potential revenue stream or preferential trade agreements.
andyg2, Sep 30 2007

R&D Makes Electronic Price Tag a Real Bargain http://www.bell-lab...97/january/7/1.html
done 10 years ago [funx, Sep 30 2007]

Motorola F3 phone http://www.flickr.c...ntindale/419378523/
which features an electrophoretic display. [Ian Tindale, Sep 30 2007]

Fujitsu Electronic Shelf Labelling http://www.fujitsu....tail/solutions/esl/
Uses building lighting system to update prices [sprogga, Oct 01 2007]

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       Good. Should be done.
the dog's breakfast, Sep 30 2007
  

       + I like it. Welcome to the halfbakery.
I'm questioning the *instant and free* part, though.
xandram, Sep 30 2007
  

       to my mind such a system would be extremely costly to introduce in reality. perhaps, it could pay off in huge supermarkets where there are zillions of goods.
funx, Sep 30 2007
  

       This would require all those tags to either contain batteries (which would need to be changed) or be connected to mains (which would be a bit of a wiring nightmare). Also goods are moved around on the shelves fairly often, perhaps just a few inches one way or another, but a cardboard tag is easy to relocate, will these be as simple?
Galbinus_Caeli, Sep 30 2007
  

       GC, - Probably not, actually. If the entire price ticket were printed with an electrophoretic display and surrounded by a printed induction coil and a little bit of chippery to do the functionality, it might be cheap and simple enough to simply need 'wanding' every day or so with a transponder device to send the info to the ticket and briefly power it up (by induction) in the process, after which it powers down but retains what's on the display, which is what electrophoretic displays tend to do - only require power to change, once set, it stays displaying that way until it fades away (perhaps weeks later). The Motorola F3 phone uses this display method - even with the battery taken out it'll continue displaying what it was last displaying, for a very long time.
Ian Tindale, Sep 30 2007
  

       An idea so wonderful it has already been done. See link.
sprogga, Oct 01 2007
  


 

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