Wal-Mart cancels 'smart-shelf' trial
I'm a little bummed. My guess is that ultimately it came down to cost. The tags are still rather expensive (10 cents each). They are going to start by focusing on using them in the warehouse and they're still asking their biggest suppliers to start using them on inventory. But I do like the idea of a more automated store, one that can tell you when it's running low on something and also tell you where products have been left incorrectly to aid in the process of restocking and shelf straightening. Having never worked retail (I was a food service man), I don't know why this interests me so much. I guess I just like order and efficiency and hate it when stores are out of something I want to buy.
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