I am working on Home Automation. I am looking for who makes this display. It is all over Walmart and the grocery stores. There is a red LED that blinks when you search for that product in the store. I have seen the workers program the display from a phone application. There is "PRO" printed on the case.
There must be a million (+/-) things we can do it they can be programmed from a central computer. I did not measure the size, but the height might be 3cm. It runs on batteries and sticks to the wall.

 

I have wondered about those. Walmart buys them by the store-full so they can't be that expensive. AliExpress has e-ink displays, but they're not yet down to AliExpress "cheap" where I'll buy a handful just to play.

I believe Washington State is talking about banning them – concerns about "demand pricing" and the price being displayed not being the price you actually pay. In my experience – with one local hardware store in particular – is that paper shelf price tags are the bigger issue. Something rings up at a higher price than the shelf tag, and when challenged the response is "The price has been changed in the system, the tags haven't been changed yet." Yes, I'm the guy who will argue until they honor the price on the shelf under threat of calling the attorney general. Yes, thank you, I do live in a woke blue state with strong consumer protection laws.

I do believe that electronic shelf labels are a good idea, but prices should only be updated when a store is closed. The price displayed when I pick an item should be the price I pay (or less).

[No, stop ranting about store "e-coupons" that only show up after you hit the pay button.]

 

Here is some info from Perplexity AI. Yes, it is an AI response but it provides links to various resources, so it may be helpful. The short answer seems to be that grocery store tags are usually a pretty well locked down proprietary system and any reuse of the tags will be very difficult (as you would expect – imagine the results of a Hack-A-Day post "Using Walmart Shelf Tags in 3 Easy Steps").

 

Now that I know what to search for, Walmart has a package of 8 for $120.
"2-1-Inch-Electronic-Price-Tag-ESL-TFT-Screen-Display-No-Messy-Writing-Bluetooth-Connect-Management-for-Android-APP-8Pcs" They appear to be B&W (not color) bluetooth. One year battery.

 

This being WalMart with enormous purchasing power, my guess would also be this particular display a custom made device with a proprietary system.

Similar devices may be available

 

Try minewtag.com Electronic Shelf Labels

https://www.minewtag.com/electronic-shelf-labels.html

I worked with the guy that designed the first electronic labels for Telepanel Systems.

 

If you are looking for small b&w or color displays for a home project, look up e-paper display.
Also look up nextion display.

 

Here's another
https://www.minewtag.com/electronic-shelf-labels.html

Oops, too late

Maybe this one:
https://www.displaydata.com/esl-solutions/
or
https://www.electronicshelftags.com

Didn't see anyone using the PRO label

 

Most of the little displays I see talk only bluetooth.

"Heltec ESP32-S3 Wireless Paper E-Ink 2.13 Inch SX1262, LoRa WiFi Bluetooth" Is more like what I want because it will talk LoRa or WiFi or Blue. It probably will not work on battery. (1 watt) The price is more than I wanted.

 

I am working on Home Automation. I am looking for who makes this display. It is all over Walmart and the grocery stores. There is a red LED that blinks when you search for that product in the store. I have seen the workers program the display from a phone application. There is "PRO" printed on the case.
There must be a million (+/-) things we can do it they can be programmed from a central computer. I did not measure the size, but the height might be 3cm. It runs on batteries and sticks to the wall.
View attachment 371908

I don't know how useful they would be for individual small projects. They are intended to be used as part of a rather sophisticated centralized system using proprietary software to manage them using encrypted and authenticated protocols. I think most of the new ones have moved to using Bluetooth BLE 5.4, which was specifically developed for ESL (electronic shelf labels). But I don't know enough about them to know if they are adaptable to the kind of applications a hobbyist or other person might have in mind. Having said that, I can think of many projects that something like this could be useful for that are, individually, pretty small scale but would have a lot of users overall, so they might have made the system pretty flexible. I would also imagine that there are different systems using the same basic technology that are intended for small-scale use that are available (or will be, if not already).

 

I have wondered about those. Walmart buys them by the store-full so they can't be that expensive. AliExpress has e-ink displays, but they're not yet down to AliExpress "cheap" where I'll buy a handful just to play.

I believe Washington State is talking about banning them – concerns about "demand pricing" and the price being displayed not being the price you actually pay. In my experience – with one local hardware store in particular – is that paper shelf price tags are the bigger issue. Something rings up at a higher price than the shelf tag, and when challenged the response is "The price has been changed in the system, the tags haven't been changed yet." Yes, I'm the guy who will argue until they honor the price on the shelf under threat of calling the attorney general. Yes, thank you, I do live in a woke blue state with strong consumer protection laws.

I do believe that electronic shelf labels are a good idea, but prices should only be updated when a store is closed. The price displayed when I pick an item should be the price I pay (or less).

[No, stop ranting about store "e-coupons" that only show up after you hit the pay button.]

They're not particularly cheap. Something like $10 each in bulk for those color tags. That doesn't sound like much, but the average Walmart has around 60,000 shelf tags, so it adds up real fast. Then there's the cost replacing the batteries, both the physical cost and the labor involved down the road when they start needing to be replaced several hundred a day. But that's several years away and they are already talking about going to low-voltage rails in the shelves with battery-less labels, so they might have gotten to the point where they replace them with the new system before the batteries in these die on a large scale.

The savings to the merchants isn't really in the cost of having employees replacing paper tags. That's actually pretty marginal because it's down at the same time that the products are restocked. There are several advantages that they benefit from that are much more significant. By having the tags and the registers managed from a single database, they eliminate the need to price-match when a shelf tag doesn't get changed even though the price actually did. That alone saves them more than just the price difference, it save quite a bit of time by not having to have a someone called to go do a price check and then overriding the system price, all while the line of other customers is being held up. Another convenience is when you are looking for a product, either using their app or by asking an employee, they can get the tag to flash to show you exactly where the item is supposed to be. Then consider being reshelving items that were taken off the shelves but not purchased. The person putting them back can scan the UPC label and then the shelf label can flash showing them right where to stock it. Similarly, when someone is picking items for an online order, the tag can flash showing them right where it is, which not only speeds up the process but reduces the chance of picking the wrong item. So there are some real, legitimate benefits to everyone.

As for the fears over "demand pricing", that's readily addressed by legislation saying what practices merchants must or must not adhere to.

 

They're not particularly cheap. Something like $10 each in bulk for those color tags. That doesn't sound like much, but the average Walmart has around 60,000 shelf tags, so it adds up real fast. Then there's the cost replacing the batteries, both the physical cost and the labor involved down the road when they start needing to be replaced several hundred a day. But that's several years away and they are already talking about going to low-voltage rails in the shelves with battery-less labels, so they might have gotten to the point where they replace them with the new system before the batteries in these die on a large scale.

The savings to the merchants isn't really in the cost of having employees replacing paper tags. That's actually pretty marginal because it's down at the same time that the products are restocked. There are several advantages that they benefit from that are much more significant. By having the tags and the registers managed from a single database, they eliminate the need to price-match when a shelf tag doesn't get changed even though the price actually did. That alone saves them more than just the price difference, it save quite a bit of time by not having to have a someone called to go do a price check and then overriding the system price, all while the line of other customers is being held up. Another convenience is when you are looking for a product, either using their app or by asking an employee, they can get the tag to flash to show you exactly where the item is supposed to be. Then consider being reshelving items that were taken off the shelves but not purchased. The person putting them back can scan the UPC label and then the shelf label can flash showing them right where to stock it. Similarly, when someone is picking items for an online order, the tag can flash showing them right where it is, which not only speeds up the process but reduces the chance of picking the wrong item. So there are some real, legitimate benefits to everyone.

As for the fears over "demand pricing", that's readily addressed by legislation saying what practices merchants must or must not adhere to.

With E-Ink displays, they could use inductive or RF coupling to power the tag and avoid batteries altogether. The idea being that the only time the onboard processor is active is when the display is being changed. One could hold a device up to the tag to set the price. Once the E-Ink is set it no longer needs power.

A few years ago, my neighbor brought a little LCD display widget from the grocery store he worked at. It was just a ~40x200 pixel display that flashed messages about the product it was trying to sell. I got the idea to use an E-Ink display to do dynamic price tags. I started poking around only to find that somebody had already come up with the idea.

I had an odd interaction at Walmart a short while ago. I found a thermal water bottle while perusing their website. They had some in stock at a local store. I went to the store and found, of course that the price, $11.99, was higher than the online price, $10.99, BUT it was on sale as a manager's special at $8.99. I guess they were clearancing them. When I took it to the register, the price it rang up was even lower at $5.99. Figure that one out...

 

All the battery-operated displays I found use BlueTooth to talk over a short range. $10.
I found LoRa or WiFi but they need 5V power. $40usd
I am now looking at low price tablets. $50 to $100 or old smart phones.

My old home control system has wires everywhere. The remote displays were 20 x 4 character.
My new system uses HTML webpages. I am now looking at small computers using Android, Ubuntu, or Windows. I just need a way to see simple web pages over WiFi. Touch screen with no keyboard will work. My old phone is working but I can't get it to power up in the right mode. I think Ubuntu and maybe Android will power up showing a certain webpage.

 

what is the reasonable price range? what display specs? small CYD can be had for $10 or so from Amazon (faster delivery than Ali).
just display 2.0-2.8" os $5-6 on Amazon Haul





this is on Amazon but not just display - it also has touch function, ESP32, SD card slot...




display on Ali are still pricey. introductory deals look great but regular price is similar to CYD.

 

there are smaller ones on sale as 10PCS

 

With E-Ink displays, they could use inductive or RF coupling to power the tag and avoid batteries altogether. The idea being that the only time the onboard processor is active is when the display is being changed. One could hold a device up to the tag to set the price. Once the E-Ink is set it no longer needs power.

Except that would defeat the purpose of having the tags in the first place. The tags are managed remotely by a central server. There's no need for someone to walk around the store setting the price on individual tags. Each tag is registered and associated with a shelf location when it is installed. After that, the network manages it without further interaction with the floor employees until it tells the system that the battery needs to be changed in a few years time.

 

Hello,

I have seen that the tags can be changed with a hand held terminal.
They scan the barcode on the tag and change what is needed on the terminal.
This terminal has the size of a thick phone.

Bertus

 

this is on Amazon but not just display - it also has touch function, ESP32, SD card slot...

I think this is a very good option. I am not a software person. C++ or Python is not in my head. I don't think I can make a dumb terminal or a web browser out of it. Maybe if I was 20 years younger.

I have an old Pi Zero W with a $17 display. By using Ubuntu, I made it work. By the time I add a Pi and display and SD card I am to the price of a tablet. I could not get the Amazon Tablet to work because the operating system used all the memory and I can't get the bloat ware off the system, but an Android or Linex tablet will probably work.

 

Hello,

I have seen that the tags can be changed with a hand held terminal.
They scan the barcode on the tag and change what is needed on the terminal.
This terminal has the size of a thick phone.

Bertus

While there are systems, intended for small operations with maybe a few dozen tags, that do not have a centralized control point, this is not practical when you have thousands (or tens of thousands) of tags in a single store. In smaller operations, the tag is essentially just a fancier shelf lable with no strong tie to the rest of the system. But this defeats the primary purpose of the tags in larger deployments, which is to keep prices synchronized with the cash registers. In those cases, the person is scanning the tag to identify it, then their terminal is talking to the central server to change the information for that tag in the database, the server is then talking to the tag to update it with the centralized information. If the hand terminal talked directly to the tag and changed the information, that would result in the tag displaying information that is not synched with the cash registers.

 

Hello,

The terminal i saw was at albert hein, a large supermarket and hema a large store.
At albert hein they even can show where a product is on the shelves on that terminal.

Bertus