Dutch companies Opticon and Nowi are collaborating on electronic shelf labels that are powered by light from in the store.

The goal is an improved in-store experience as a sustainable alternative to traditional smart retail systems.

Nowi’s NH2 energy-harvesting power management IC (PMIC) with PV cells can make a battery-powered electronic shelf label (ESL) made Opticon self-powered.

The NH2 is optimised to extract low power from indoor lights in supermarkets, via a PV panel, and boost the voltage to charge the battery, hence powering the ESL at a low cost.

The retail industry is gradually shifting towards technology-driven automation to create a different shopping experience for customers, to operate more efficiently and be in search of sustainability. An ESL system can play an essential role in this shift towards automation, letting retailers update it remotely and display additional product parameters on shelves, such as promotions and loyalty programmes.

“We aim to develop new solutions to maximise retail chain’s profitability and operations,” said Dick de Haas, international sales manager at Opticon Sensors. “Actually, another trend we are focusing on is the peak in demand for eco-friendly products. In collaboration with Nowi, we are developing cost-efficient cutting-edge solutions which will allow ESLs to never lose power, making it a smarter and more reliable system for retailers.”

Retailers can boost revenues and optimise their operations thanks to the benefits of perpetually powered ESLs:

• Promotion & replenishment by increasing daily updates (dynamic pricing) and using LED blinks (smart restocking)
• ESL lifetime no longer limited by power becoming a reliable affordable system that displays prices at all times
• Reduced maintenance & operational costs by eliminating the need for costly individual battery swaps
• Sustainable alternative by avoiding the constant disposal of polluting batteries

Simon van der Jagt, Nowi CEO, said: “In an increasingly connected world, retail is being transformed to a smarter, more user-focused, personnel-friendly and sustainable environment. Electronic shelf labels are now becoming the norm and enabling perpetual power will definitely provide for a better customer in-store experience and an improved profitability for stores.”