Why Don’t We Develop Networked Shelf Video Strip When We Are Able To ?

Later in 2014, AOK Displays successfully developed shelf video strip that is made of die-cast aluminium housing , media player screen module and synchronizer(playback controller over the screens). Over the past 3 years, we got hundreds of inquiries from retailers, retail shelf makers, store furniture manufacturers, marketing company, retail signage app developer as well as content management system makers,  they loved our digital shelf talker, it is a great retail signage solution.

But they would ask almost the same question: Why Don’t You Develop Networked Shelf Video Strip When You Are Able To ?

This is a good question.

Every unique feature of our current stand-alone shelf video strip is wonderful except networking:

• Die-cast made alluminium housing, flexible for different strip lengths with one time investment in tooling;
• Super narrow bezel and super small between-screen gap, as narrow as 9.3mm;
• Low-Power consumption to support battery driven option, each 4.3″ screen consumes less than 150mAh per hour.
• Smart USB auto-copy with protection configurator & user-friendly animation
• Smart folder-based playlist creator;
• Smart Playlist editor built-in with one press on the switch to change between 100 playlists preloaded;

The reason we develop such a cost-effective solution is to address the scenarios that don’t need content update frequently.

People compare ours with some other Intelligent, Intel based, networkable shelf video strip. But don’t forgot the unexplained, hidden cost of those fancy demos, see the comparison below:

Assuming our stand-alone shelf video strip cost is 180USD; If we build a networked version on the current technology, except the hardware part upcost, let’s say 50USD; We still need to add the following to make the networking infrastructure in place to work as expected:

• Content management system , let’s ignore this part as we could buy this service;
• Cradlepoint: 3G/4G Ethernet modem to bring internet access to the retail shelf-edge, say U$200
• Router: to connect RJ45 Ethernet cable; Say U$50
• Monthly fee for content update: let’s say U$5/month
• Maintenance: let’s say 1% faulty rate;

The total cost of networked version is U$545.4, it is triple times of stand-alone version. If cost is not an issue, the end-user also needs an analytical data pattern to regulate its daily operation and get a formula or answer: whether the return of investment ( ROI ) in the shelf-edge video strip advertising is POSITIVE.

The final answer to the question: ROI counts,  please remember, retail signage is a part of in-store advertising, if the ROI of networked shelf video strip is going to be negative, please hold on:)