The application of smart displays in retail stores is one of the most discussed topics at Touch Taiwan 2018. With the integration of camera sensors, displays and IoT, smart display technologies can enable retailers to collect data of consumers and to market their products more efficiently. Consumers, on the other hand, will be able to gain more comprehensive details when selecting products and receive updated discount information while shopping. Many exhibitors have presented their state-of-the-art technologies and integrated retail solutions including Innolux, Champ Vision Display and E ink.

Innolux has introduced its smart retail solution at its booth at Touch Taiwan. With the integration of operating system, displays, sensors and cloud data, Innolux has launched a retail platform to provide integrated information for retailers to efficiently manage the information of their commodities while obtaining data from customers. Retail shops can save on labor costs with the smart system while learning what the popular products and areas are in the shops. Meanwhile, consumers can use their mobile devices to scan the products and shop online and request for delivery. The online-offline integration will help advance the progress of smart retail development. The company has also developed special format displays panels to meet the needs of display shelfs and increase the lifetime of the panels according to the demands of retails stores.

Innolux has worked with FamilyMart in Taiwan and debuted the first smart convenience store in the Southern Taiwan Science Park which implements Innolux’s smart retail solution. The company also unveiled that retail stores from China, the U.S. and Europe have contacted them for cooperation. As the competition of panel market becomes more intense, Innolux has searched for novel collaborations and planned to transform itself into a solution supplier instead of a panel maker.

Champ Vision Display, a subsidiary of Coretronic, has showcased its smart retail display system at the event as well. By demonstrating a camera embedded Ultra Slim Dual Display, an IoT Mirror Display, and its Central Management System (CMS), the company has presented a cutting-edge shopping model which allows customers to select products from the displays and to try and pay for the products without queuing.

At the same time, shops can manage the visitors and analyze the data of consumers via sensor cameras. The display system is suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments such as shopping malls and outlets as the displays are featured with high brightness, wide viewing angle and long lifetime.

E ink is known for its ePaper technology and has displayed multiple applications of ePaper at Touch Taiwan. Featuring low power consumption and reflective display without backlight, e-paper is suitable for outdoor displays as it can be viewed under sunlight and does not create eye discomfort. E ink has also worked with panel producers for wider applications including electronic shelf label (ESL) for smart retail solutions.

With the cooperation and assistance of a system provider, Pricer, E ink has presented a series of solutions covering dynamic price update and smart in stock management to offer advanced operation methods for retail store. Moreover, the company has demonstrated its latest technology of Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP) which uses pigment to show full color gamut. The product is scheduled to be mass produced in 1Q19 for indoor PIDs.