It seems that everywhere we turn, the world is being digitally transformed, and your local supermarket could be next. We’re all used to the “non-digital” supermarket shelves — but digital supermarket shelves are likely to be the way of the future. That’s because they can deliver benefits to both consumers and supermarket retailers, so it’s a win/win situation. Here is: smart supermarket shelves — a shopping transformation.

How smart supermarket shelves could benefit consumers

The major potential benefits for consumers center on the capability of powered supermarket shelves to interact with smartphones. This can create a personalized shopping experience for consumers.

Consider these two potential applications of smart supermarket shelf technology:

1) A digital sign that could display a relevant promotion to a shopper as they walked past. This promotion could be triggered by the types of groceries that the customer has bought in the supermarket in the past and by the supermarket shelf sensor interacting with the customer’s smartphone to detect when they were approaching the shelf.

Consumer demographic data (like age, gender and cultural background) could also be used to trigger personalized supermarket shelf display information.

2) A smartphone shopping list feature where information on where customers can find grocery items that are on their list could be digitally and automatically provided to them by powered, smart supermarket shelving.

What about consumer privacy issues?

Of course, there are always concerns when commercial organizations collect consumer information. Those concerns usually center on how that information will be used by the organization that’s collecting it. For example, according to recent research conducted by PwC, 43% of U.S. consumers say that they would not give their personal information (such as their purchase history, location, and age) to companies to allow for more personalized experiences.

However, 63% of U.S. consumers in the same PwC study said that they would be open to sharing their personal information in return for a product or service that they truly valued. These findings demonstrate the importance of retailers, such as supermarkets highlighting the consumer benefits of smart-shelf technology.

The benefits for supermarket retailers

The potential benefits of powered supermarket shelves for retailers include:

• Data-driven inventory management that enables the automatic tracking of in-store stock levels. For example, out-of-stock alerts can be sent to relevant supermarket staff to prompt restocking and reordering. Efficient restocking and reordering can help to increase sales by ensuring appropriate inventory levels.
• Using and being able to easily and quickly update electronic price tags, saving time compared to manually pricing stock, and eliminating the need for price checks.
• The ability to use flexible digital signs to market to grocery shoppers in real-time. For example, in-store promotions that can be quickly and easily adjusted to suit changing circumstances, such as new product launches or seasonal marketing campaigns. Many supermarket purchases are impulse items, so the power of delivering relevant, personalized information to supermarket consumers should not be underestimated.
• The ability to generate detailed analytics on consumer shopping behavior to inform store merchandising by managers and other supermarket staff. For example, customer foot traffic patterns to show where the stock should ideally be located to maximize sales.
• Preventing or minimizing theft.

Internet of Things (IoT) technology that enables smart supermarket shelf technology

Key IoT technology that enables the benefits of supermarket shelf technology to be delivered include:

• Electronic shelf labels (ESLs)

Supermarket retailers who use ESLs will no longer have to manually price items. Instead, their prices will be digitally displayed, allowing items to quickly and easily be repriced (for example, when they go ‘on sale’ at a lower price for a limited period in order to stimulate consumer demand).

ESLs can also allow retailers to reduce product waste by quickly and easily allowing the price of items to be lowered when they are nearing their expiry date. Again, this tactic can stimulate consumer demand.

• Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags

RFID tags transmit and receive data using radio waves. They can be used to help with inventory management or to alert staff if a shopper or staff member puts an item on the wrong shelf.

• Weight sensors

Weight sensors also assist with inventory management by detecting when a product is replaced or removed on a supermarket shelf, or when consumers move to a certain area of the store. Machine learning algorithms can then be used to analyze this consumer movement data to assist with store decision-making.

In addition to these IoT technologies, more traditional technologies like video cameras can be used on smart supermarket shelves for store security, to monitor inventory levels, and to gain a deeper understanding of consumer behavior in-store. For example, where consumers spend most of their time and foot traffic patterns.

The bottom line

Smart shelf technology offers many potential benefits for both consumers and physical store retailers, especially those in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector such as supermarkets.

The bulk of supermarket purchases are still primarily made in-store, and personalized in-store shopping experiences are the next logical frontier for digital transformation according to the latest research from McKinsey. In time, personalized in-store shopping experiences may become as common as the personalization we’ve come to expect when shopping online.

Image Credit: Anna Shvets; Pexels

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Technology is booming in the home. Technology Convergence and the Smart Home recently reported that US broadband households now own more than ten connected devices. A shortlist of the home connected devices include connected consumer electronics, connected health devices, smart locks, thermostats, security cameras, sprinkling systems, and more. But long-range wireless power promises less waste and lower cost with these smart home systems.

Interoperability and connectivity are two key deciding factors in purchase decisions. As the number of devices increases in the home, so does the need to keep them consistently charged and working (no one wants the smart lock on their front door to lose power).

For those smart home devices that still call for the use of traditional batteries, consumers are faced with both an enormous amount of battery waste and high replacement costs. Also, because batteries only have a small total energy capacity, manufacturers are forced to sacrifice device functionality just to extend battery life.

Taking Charge Without the Waste

The proliferation of devices is driving the need for a sea-change in how those devices are powered. Batteries are expensive, wasteful, and often die quickly, leaving our smart home devices unusable, sometimes for days.

Annually, Americans discard approximately 180,000 tons of batteries (more than three billion batteries), of which 86,000 tons are single-use alkaline batteries that cannot be recycled.

Placed end to end, the dead alkaline batteries alone would circle the world at least six times. Much of this waste ends up in landfills, not only taking up precious land but also allowing harmful chemicals to leach into the surrounding soil and waterways.

Despite advances in battery and charging technologies – like longer-lasting lithium-ion rechargeable batteries — a new Zogby report talks of, “Charging America 2019.” The Current State of Power Options for Smart Home and Mobile Devices, found that 40 percent of consumers have to replace smart home device batteries multiple times per month.

A New Path – Long-Range Wireless Power

Not only do we need a more sustainable energy delivery approach for the benefit of our planet, but consumers are also hungry for alternative energy options. They want possibilities that will give them more excellent reliability and reduce their costs associated with having to purchase a plethora of batteries continually.

25 percent of consumers that are investing in smart home technology said that they would spend an additional 10 percent or more for a smart home device with long-range wireless power if that meant making the device more mobile, easier to install and less of a hassle to service on a reoccurring basis.

Long-range wireless power is the disruptive technology that is cutting the cord.

Long-range wireless power is the disruptive technology that is cutting the cord on a soon to be an archaic system of powering devices, especially in the smart home.

The process? A wireless power transmitter sends safe infrared beams to a receiver (typically embedded in the devices to be powered), and a small photovoltaic cell in the receiver converts the light to electricity. The concept is similar to solar panels converting sunlight into electricity.

Infrared beams can travel with little degradation over a distance, efficiently and safely providing wireless power across a room. The infrared process dramatically reducing the need for batteries, and thus decreasing the environmental footprint caused by battery waste.

The infrared method of charging frees up manufacturers to create the smart home devices that consumers desire, free of the power limitations imposed by batteries.

Long-range wireless charging will turn the tide on battery waste with a more sustainable way to charge not only smart home devices, but mobile phones, tablets, wireless speakers, and industrial sensors.

Long-range wireless eliminates the need for batteries and power cords altogether. It’s a win-win for consumers, manufacturers, and most importantly, our planet.

The time is now for this disruptive tech to enter the entire industry. The long-range technology will innovate and prepare for a new way of charging the growing prominence of smart devices in our daily lives.

Just like WiFi-enabled a new class of products — long-range wireless charging can usher in the next generation of powered, eco-friendly smart devices.

Image Credit: Hilary Halliwell; Pexels

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If you feel a bit worried when the battery of your mobile phone runs low, you are not alone. A recent City University study shows that battery life has a significant impact on people’s anxiety level and their behavior.

A Wired article summarizes this well: “when smartphones start dying, people get weird: they head home immediately, swipe cables from coworkers’ desks, demand chargers from random strangers or places of business.” Given how reliant we are on our devices, these types of responses come as no surprise.

People faced with a dying battery.

What do you do when you are faced with a dying battery? Many people will pop into a coffee shop, a restaurant or scour wherever they happen to be for an outlet. Public spaces often have outlets or have installed charging solutions like USB outlets.

Major chains like Starbucks and McDonald’s have made free Wi-Fi and the ability to charge an integral part of their customer experience. Yet, what’s currently available still leaves plenty of room for improvement.

Traditional power outlets require charging cables.

To charge, you must be near an outlet and must remember to bring the right cable with you. This limits where people can sit. Some places simply don’t have easily accessible outlets, or the outlets that they have are not in desirable spots. Sometimes the shape of a charger can make it impossible to put two into a socket side-by-side.

Has the line to charge your devices been a simple numbers game?

In a crowded McDonald’s or airport, you must compete with everyone else for the available outlets. If you get one, it may leave you huddled uncomfortably close to a bunch of other people around a charging pod. In addition, using USB charging ports presents a potential risk.

USB doesn’t just transmit power.

A USB sends data — which means that a port could try to access your personal information or upload malware onto your device. These types of attacks may not be widespread, but they can happen. Another charging solution is wireless contact pads.

The most popular of these wireless contact pads are based on an inductive charging method referred to as Qi. Qi charging allows for wireless charging over very short distances, is supported by major players like Apple, Samsung and Google.

Who wants to put their phone on a dirty charging spot?

However, the pad itself still needs an electrical connection, and a consumer attitudes report by Zogby Analytics shows that many people are not sold on Qi charging. The report cites issues like charging speed, the need to align the device perfectly, and availability as key problems.

A thick phone case could prevent the phone from charging, and Qi spots in public spaces are sometimes broken or dirty. Who wants to put their phone on a dirty charging spot?

Long-range wireless power.

Long-range wireless power – the ability to deliver power from a distance without wires or charging pads – solves these problems. Long-range wireless power frees people to sit where they like and not vie with others for a limited number of outlets.

There are many approaches to long-range wireless charging such as Ultrasound and radio frequency, to name a few. These technologies vary in the amount of energy they can safely deliver as well as in their efficiency.

A new and very promising approach is infrared light, which can safely and efficiently provide enough energy to charge a phone. From the user’s perspective, the benefit of having wireless charging in a variety of public venues is readily apparent. In addition, there are significant benefits that extend to the businesses themselves.

Wireless charging for businesses.

Wireless charging is a simple and inexpensive way for business owners to elevate their customer experience. It provides a way to differentiate themselves, to delight their customers and ultimately — to make their establishments a more comfortable place to spend time.

Aesthetic and renovation efforts for WiFi power in the office.

The alternative – providing power outlets near tables – can be a major renovation effort. It can be an aesthetic concern, as well. A cocktail bar in LA or a diner in NY may value the sleek appearance of their countertops. Having to accommodate outlets or Qi pads near every seat can be a blemish on an otherwise flawless decor.

Another useful way to think about this is to consider the evolution of free Wi-Fi. In the early days, not everyone offered it, but those that did had an edge, offering their customers a little something extra, a reason to linger.

Forward-thinking business owners understand that small gestures like providing easy plugin access can go a long way.

For example, a few years ago, Domino’s debuted a service where people could order a pizza by simply texting an emoji. Thirty minutes later, pizza. Domino’s was letting people do what they already liked to do, text and use emojis.

The result was a 10% boost in sales and 1.5 billion social media impressions. Similarly, wireless charging is another way of giving people what they want — a fully charged phone and unlimited connectivity. Examples like Domino’s are common. Restaurants are using mobile apps, streamlined delivery services and decision logic technology — anything and everything to further enhance customer experiences.

Restaurants have transitioned to portable point of sale terminals, like the ones made by Ziosk. Olive Garden, TGI Fridays, and other big chains have embraced this trend which makes ordering another drink or paying the bill much easier – right from the table.

However, keeping these terminals charged requires batteries or a hardwire. Batteries need to be removed daily and charged overnight, which means extra work before opening and at closing. Wiring these devices from the wall comes with the limitations already discussed above.

Integrating the wireless charging receiver.

By integrating a wireless charging receiver with the point of sale table-side terminal, the device could always remain on without requiring a wire or additional maintenance. Not to mention that vendors could also use their wireless power to let patrons comfortably charge their phones.

Final thoughts

A fast-food restaurant, cafe or public library with long-range wireless charging represents a fundamentally improved experience. In the mobile age, people expect everything to be quick, easy and intuitive. The speed at which something goes from a novelty to an expectation has increased.

Yesterday WiFi was something new, and today it’s essentially unthinkable that any restaurant or cafe would not have it. Long-range wireless charging is primed to follow a similar trajectory.

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The Internet of Things (IoT) has already fundamentally changed the way we live. Ever since Kevin Ashton coined the term in 1999, the excitement around IoT technology has only continued to grow and is turning into widespread deployments. Here is wireless power and how IoT fixtures will power the bathroom of the future.

We hear a lot of talk about smart cars, smart homes, and even smart cities. And the ubiquity of connected devices like Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Samsung’s Smart Things Hub indicates the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Analysts predict there will be more than 64B IoT devices worldwide by 2025.

It seems that much of the conversation has been about connected and smart devices used in residential settings or for personal use. Because of this focus on the consumer IoT marketplace, perhaps the last thing that comes to mind when you think of smart IoT applications are smart devices in a public restroom.

The potential is huge for innovations that increase efficiency and enhance the guest experience in public restrooms.

Implementing IoT technology in a public restroom environment can benefit consumers, facility managers, and maintenance personnel, and how a new technology known as long-range wireless power can enable and accelerate these implementations.

In Search of Better Bathrooms

It’s important for public spaces to have clean bathrooms.

That’s one of the reasons why many commercial bathrooms – the ones you use at airports, hospitals, sports venues, etc. – are loaded with battery-operated devices like touchless faucets, automated soap dispensers, automatic flush valves, and other sensor-operated fixtures.

The sheer number of these devices spread across multiple bathrooms creates maintenance issues for facilities managers.

Consider:

• To keep devices and fixtures working, batteries need to be constantly replaced. If batteries last three months on average, and an airport has 500 battery-operated devices, more than five devices on average will need batteries replaced every day. The problem is that facilities managers don’t know exactly which devices these will be.
• When a battery runs dead it causes one or more devices to stop working (e.g. no flush, no soap, no water). The inconvenience usually leads to customer frustration, complaints, and in many retail locations, lost business.
• Sometimes, especially in hospitals, there are regulations that mandate that these sanitary devices keep working, and outages are unacceptable.
• Then, of course, there is the cost of batteries, the man-hours to replace them, and the environmental impact of disposing of used batteries.

These are just a few of the frustrations plaguing maintenance personnel.

Although newly built bathrooms are more likely to have electricity, cables, and wires present their own set of challenges for facilities managers. For instance, when retrofitting existing buildings, it’s often more cost-effective to “cut the cord” and use wireless power.

Rick Szcodronski, senior associate, technology consulting for Environmental Systems Design, Inc. said, “Wireless devices are reliable, secure, and the cheapest way to bring IoT technology to existing buildings.”

As the power consumption needs to increase and the electrical installation costs continue to rise, facility managers and maintenance personnel are looking for environmentally-friendly, cost-effective ways to meet the power consumption needs of the modern restroom.

Let’s face it — the condition of a public bathroom can affect public perceptions.

• Fifty-two percent of Americans said that they would “definitely” or “probably” spend more money at businesses with well-maintained bathrooms.
• Fifty-five percent report being unlikely to return to a business after a bad restroom experience.
• The Airports Council International, the official association for the world’s airports, did a survey, and travelers said that washroom cleanliness and terminal cleanliness affect their overall satisfaction more than any other infrastructure factor.

Batteries on the Blink and Wires in the Way

Cleanliness and customer experience aren’t the only challenges when it comes to maintaining public restrooms.

For example, as energy consumption in modern buildings increases, energy efficiency has become an important aspect of building management.

Although restroom technology has improved in the past few years, many builders and contractors have become cost-conscious, opting for the least expensive fixtures. This combined with unreliable energy from batteries often means customers have a less than stellar experience using public restrooms. Think unfilled soap dispensers, faucets that don’t work, and wet hands with no paper towels available.

• There is a desire to have smart soap and toilet paper dispensers.
• Automatic lighting systems are a must in commercial restrooms.
• The demand is great for IoT services in most public buildings.
• Power delivery methods can become a problem without proper IoT installations.

One problem is that as bathrooms get smarter and more connected, it takes more effort to service the fixtures.

The new challenge for facility management professionals.

Property and facility managers are looking to use IoT technology in the restroom to help them provide well-maintained restrooms, which need an energy source that isn’t limited by battery capacity or the logistics of running additional cabling or installing new electrical outlets.

Not to mention, wires and cables can be damaged by cleaning crews and can also cause tripping hazards.

Building managers, out of necessity, are turning to IoT devices that rely on wireless power so they can better allocate resources and resolve problems before they affect the customers.

What happens when you improve power delivery to public spaces?

Typically, wireless charging solutions are easier to install, maintain, and repair than wired ones. Using wireless power in public restrooms helps eliminate the largest stumbling blocks to a smart retrofit or new smart installation.

The Future of IoT Fixtures: It’s Not What You Think

Until recently, long-range wireless power was the stuff of science fiction.

Now, companies like Wi-Charge have developed long-range wireless charging solutions that are powerful, efficient, safe, and perfectly suited to solve the power consumption needs of modern public restroom IoT fixtures.

Wireless technology is a cost-effective way to power commercial spaces like public bathrooms. It’s also a novel technology-based solution to improving cleanliness and guest experience, which creates value for everyone involved in the use and maintenance of public restrooms.

Let’s take a look at some more ways that consumers, facility managers, and maintenance personnel can benefit from IoT-enabled restrooms devices.

• IoT technology like smart lighting controls, occupancy sensors, and smart thermostats help property owners save money. These controls improve the experience for customers who use these public bathrooms.

  Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is an airport expected to service more than 80 million passengers annually in the next five years. DFW is investing millions of dollars in smart bathroom technology for the airport’s 135 restrooms.

  Sensors in the airport’s bathrooms will alert maintenance staff when supplies like soap, paper towels, and toilet paper run low. Staff will be alerted and will restock restrooms on demand. Out-dated time-scheduled approaches will no longer be used.

  Other airports, such as William P. Hobby Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport currently use similar technology to increase operational efficiency.

• IoT technology can transmit cleaning data and inventory levels in real-time, enabling management to deploy critical resources efficiently. High engagement in proactive maintenance is deployed. Smart devices anticipate, replenishment, or repair before issues become a problem.

  For example, the Kimberly-Clark Professional’s Onvation smart restroom management system sends real-time alerts to property managers or maintenance staff on foot traffic and product usage. This allows the cleaning staff to optimize cleaning schedules and inventory levels.

Smart meters, smart thermostats, and smart faucets can reveal valuable data.  Combined with analytics, the power and water consumption in public restrooms provide data for additional innovation.

The Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, uses IoT-enabled sensors as part of their smart water management system. Bellagio’s system monitors and analyzes 1,440 data points every day as part of their water conservation initiatives.

Meeting business sustainability goals.

Again, these are just a few real-world scenarios where IoT devices in the restroom help make sure that customers’ expectations are met and help businesses meet sustainability goals. Using technology to deliver a better user experience isn’t new – except in the restroom.

So why is wireless power the smart way to power these battery-operated devices when you want to add IoT capabilities?

All these IoT capabilities require more power than batteries can provide. Property managers don’t have the resources to replace batteries even more frequently than they do now. Wireless power delivers dual benefits. Eliminating battery replacements and powering the IoT capabilities of the bathroom of the future are lofty goals.

Wireless power helps deliver the energy that is needed for these functions and opens the door for on-demand advertising, faucet lighting, or other features that are currently limited by battery capacity.

2020 and Beyond

Restrooms are among the highest-maintenance rooms in most commercial buildings. There is an opportunity to improve upon how most restrooms are managed today.

A smart bathroom offers commercial and public property managers convenience, control, cost savings, and increased energy efficiency. At the same time, it offers users improved hygiene, stocked and well-maintained bathrooms, and better customer experience.

Bringing IoT technology to the public restroom is the next step in facilities management. In other words, smart restrooms connected to the IoT are the future, and that future starts today. Vendors should consider wireless power, and builders should demand it.

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