Breakthrough for mass adoption of NFC in retail

NXP is supporting SES with the integration of its NFC NTAG chips in SES’s electronic shelf label solutions. 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.”