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Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

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Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#101

Post by esjeon »

abakker wrote: post #15

I thought the idea was that these would allow more insulation in the doors than glass, and that the energy use from the screen was less than the energy saved from cooling losses (but what is the payback from the manufacturing, shipping, install, recycling, repair etc?). I'm skeptical, but it is conceivably possible that it works out if the screens are very efficient, using off the shelf parts. Maybe.

If you insulate too good, the heat from display won't be able to escape, and you'll need a gap b/w screen and insulation, making the door even thinker. I'm pretty sure, by design, those displays are being cooled with the freezers behind them.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#102

Post by redis_mlc »

martincmartin wrote: post #71

In the '90s I was in a technology based art class at CMU. An artist talked about a project they wanted to do: a music streamer, but it would use GPS to know it's location, and play music from the local culture, to keep you connected to your surroundings. Another student said: "You mean, a radio?"

Actually the artist was prescient - with Clear Channel ownership, there is almost no local radio programming today.

IHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IHeartMedia

"the company owns more than 850 full-power AM and FM radio stations in the U.S., making it the country's largest owner of radio stations. "

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#103

Post by [deleted] »

xaduha wrote: post #67
function_seven wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They are directly advertising the products literally inside the case. Well, yeah, but glass would be just as effective and much cheaper. So they're doing something in addition to that. If the requirement was "display the goods we have for sale" then glass beats this thing in virtually every way. Cheaper, minimal maintenance, no firmware updates, and most of all: familiar. But these are going to be: * Tracking consu…

> It's dystopian crap, I want nothing to do with it. This is what the future looks like though. Welcome.

[deleted]

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#104

Post by jcims »

mrobins wrote: post #97
rdiddly wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an ad platform plain and simple; that's the whole value proposition. So I imagine every pitch, every meeting was about that. And every store that uses it will be doing it to get a cut of the ad revenue. It's true that it's lousy at being glass, but that's like saying smallpox blankets were a lousy way to make friends with Native Americans. The shittiness of it, in other words, was the goal all along, and any res…

Except that moving inventory, and to a lesser extent generating repeat business, is more critical than ancillary ad revenue. If The screens don’t work or the ads aren’t effective, and I don’t open the door to get those high-margin also-bought drinks than they definitely do not achieve the store’s goal.

The shoppers are already in the store, presumably to buy from their list. Now the store gets a cut of an ad and the profit from the sale it makes. The digital delivery is going to be amazing for A/B testing of ads because they are going to have near immediate feedback. It's pretty clever in a dystopian hellscape kind of way.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#105

Post by YuccaGloriosa »

jbay808 wrote: post #69
pydry wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would imagine this is the kind of thing you'd commission if your job title was, say, chief innovation officer at a soft drinks company. What else would you do?

I'd probably try to experiment with weird ideas like unsweetened beverages, carbonated coffee, carbonated tea, carbonated oat milk, and bitter flavours like orange peel.

Too much bigclivelive from YouTube

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#106

Post by PostOnce »

Brick & mortar retail is trying its very hardest to kill itself.

The bigger a tremendous fucking hassle it is to go to the store instead of ordering online, the fewer people are going to come in.

Supermarket window: "we now use anti-shoplifting face and license plate tracking" [e.g. auror.co ]

Supermarket aisle: can't see any products, have to open every door to look at actual products instead of TV ads

Supermarket aisle: e-ink price labels; can no longer flip up to see how much the thing cost before it was on "sale".

Supermarket aisle: e-ink label is down, no idea how much product costs

Supermarket checkout: always scans shit at the wrong price

Plus we've got covid, drive time, smaller selection, unknown stock levels [sold out].

Any old man could tell you giving a shit about your customers' experience is going to benefit you in the long run. But no. It'll be too late by the time they realize what they've done.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#107

Post by legutierr »

rdiddly wrote: post #43
foxfired wrote: post #26

I do not blame cooler screen for selling this technology to anyone. But I want everyone to consider how much it takes to bring about a technology like this to a grocery store. If this is any of the big chain groceries, the manager doesn't even have the authority to put a sticker on the glass door. This was vetted by hundreds of people and none of them thought... glass? Business class tickets were purchased, hotels we…

It's an ad platform plain and simple; that's the whole value proposition. So I imagine every pitch, every meeting was about that. And every store that uses it will be doing it to get a cut of the ad revenue. It's true that it's lousy at being glass, but that's like saying smallpox blankets were a lousy way to make friends with Native Americans. The shittiness of it, in other words, was the goal all along, and any res…

There are cameras built into the doors, and one of the images in the Twitter thread shows heat maps being displayed on the screens, presumably conveying information about what the consumers were looking at on the screens.

Ads may not have been the only value proposition here, in other words. Data that can be used to improve merchandising may be equally valuable.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#110

Post by PragmaticPulp »

foxfired wrote: post #26

I do not blame cooler screen for selling this technology to anyone. But I want everyone to consider how much it takes to bring about a technology like this to a grocery store. If this is any of the big chain groceries, the manager doesn't even have the authority to put a sticker on the glass door. This was vetted by hundreds of people and none of them thought... glass? Business class tickets were purchased, hotels we…

> and then convinced a grocery chain to buy this for their store

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the other way around: The startup that produces these doors probably pitched them for free to this store, perhaps offering a cut of the ad revenue. If the startup is well-funded, they may have even paid the store up-front to let them install the doors.

Given that these aren't widespread and the product is prototype quality, the startup likely needs a few pilot installs to show their investors and prove their product out. Assuming they're funded, getting some of these installed ASAP is their top priority. Trying to sell them would only slow that down.

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