Worldwide leaders in NFC and electronic shelf labels combine expertise to deploy NFC-enabled retail shelf displays
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) and Store Electronic Systems (NYSE Euronext: SESL, FR0010282822) today announced their cooperation to enable the large-scale adoption of NFC technology within the retail industry. NXP, the global leader in NFC solutions, is supporting SES with the integration of its leading-edge NFC NTAG chips in SES's electronic shelf label solutions. This will help the retail industry to take advantage of the rapid adoption of NFC-enabled smart phones and provide new exciting shopping experiences to consumers.
The announcement comes as SES starts mass deployments of its patent-pending NFC label system. The SES label is fitted with a high-definition graphic screen (127 dpi), a dynamic display (patented Dual Transistor Pixel technology), a high-speed radio transmitter (RFX4) and a NFC tag IC from NXP that enables convenient contactless interaction with NFC-enabled smart phones. NXP will also ensure interoperability of SES solutions with all NFC-enabled smart phone models, the great majority of which use NXP's trusted NFC technology.
Embedding NFC tags into electronic shelf labels enables retailers to offer a number of different services to brands, from digital marketing and social media integration to personalized cross-selling, up-selling and loyalty schemes. Consumers will have access to a wealth of information on composition, origin and manufacturing of products, including calorie counts and allergy alerts, and can conveniently manage their shopping basket and gain loyalty benefits by just tapping their phone on the price label.
"We have already engaged with eight key retailers across four countries and this year will deploy millions of shelf solutions with NFC tags. We are confident that retailers will quickly launch all available services and benefit from the value NFC brings to their business. This is why we are working closely with NXP to accelerate our plans for the industrialization of our NFC label range," said Thierry Gadou, CEO, SES.
"NFC is the perfect technology for retailers, providing security but also the intuitive and convenient 'tapping' experience that consumers like," says Rutger Vrijen, VP and general manager, RFID tagging business line, NXP Semiconductors. "As the world's leading provider of NFC solutions, we provide both expert and comprehensive support as well as trusted technology to pioneering companies creating smart life solutions. We see SES as a key player in promoting the use of our technology in retail environments."
SES selected NXP's NTAG family, which features increased RF performance, counters and fast serialization support. As the largest supplier to the identification market globally, NXP leverages its leadership in contactless technologies to provide complete mobile transaction solutions: NFC controllers, secure elements in all form factors, NFC tag ICs and infrastructure reader ICs.
