E-Ink price tags at Walmart

rcentros · 02-01-2025, 02:02 AM

I went into our local Walmart (grocery section) and found that all the price tags for all items were replaced with small and color E-Ink tags. Presumably they can now automatically update prices (which might not be a good thing). Most of the tags were just black on white (or light grey) but, if the item was on sale, there was red bar highlighting the sale price. What really surprised me is that these E-Ink tags were even in the freezers. They must be a bit different than the E-Ink screens in eBooks.

Looking online, I see this change-over started in June of 2024. I guess it just got to our local Walmart.

https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2...and-associates

Probably not that big of a deal to most. It was just weird that the last time I was there (a couple days ago) there were none of these tags, and now that's all there is. I'm personally happy to see them, because half the time the paper tags were either missing or had the wrong price (in other words, weren't updated).

Quoth · 02-01-2025, 03:29 AM

We've (Ireland) had them in Aldi, Lidl, and Musgrave owned stores (Centra, Supervalue, Superquinn for quite a while. They update them from a handheld terminal. There is a rechargeable battery so maybe the terminal inductively charges them. Obviously they only need power when being updated.

Here the paper tag, or any price on the product has to be charged, if the checkout price it higher.

It's not very speedy but faster than fiddling with paper. Also they can scan the barcode on the product at the tag location to get the settings for the tag – I've watched the process.

The larger panels are quite grey compared to small tags. The white + black + one colour (options other than red) panels are somewhere on the Eink Corp site. Resolution doesn't seem great, but appearance is better than a 1981 Epson dotmatrix printer.

John F · 02-01-2025, 07:11 AM

My Aldis (U.S.) also has eink tags. And Khols (I think).

Quote:

... Here the paper tag, or any price on the product has to be charged, if the checkout price it higher. ...

I don't know what the law is here, but many supermarkets have a policy of if the price rings up wrong, you get 1 of those items free. I used to get a lot of free Jax cheese twists from Walmart, and Greek Pasta Salad from S&S.

theducks · 02-01-2025, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

My Aldis (U.S.) also has eink tags. And Khols (I think).

I don't know what the law is here, but many supermarkets have a policy of if the price rings up wrong, you get 1 of those items free. I used to get a lot of free Jax cheese twists from Walmart, and Greek Pasta Salad from S&S.

In California, it is not STORE POLICY, it is the LAW. (Actually, it is the lower price or free. depends on the price rang. Does not apply to booze or smokes).

DNSB · 02-01-2025, 01:26 PM

For what it may be worth, the eInk tags in the local shops use a 2450 coin cell. I had fun in a Walmart when one of the staff was trying to update a price and it didn't change. My suggestion was that he try swapping the battery with another tag since the display wouldn't change with a dead battery. When he did, the price changed. Along with a lot of people, he hadn't realized the eInk tag only needed power to change the display so when they didn't update, the procedure was to swap it out and ship it to corporate.

rcentros · 02-01-2025, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

We've (Ireland) had them in Aldi, Lidl, and Musgrave owned stores (Centra, Supervalue, Superquinn for quite a while. They update them from a handheld terminal. ...

Thanks for the information. I guess these were just new to me, not to anyone else. And it looks like they're more a hassle than I thought they were. I still don't understand how they withstand the temperature in freezers, however.

Renate · 02-10-2025, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

I still don't understand how they withstand the temperature in freezers, however.

I think the liquid is more oil-like than anything else? But of course Eink is temperature sensitive which is why they have different waveforms for different temperature ranges. Still, I'd like to see update rates for freezer displays.

DNSB · 02-10-2025, 05:36 PM

For what it may be worth, eInk shelf tags come in two temperature ranges. The normal temperature range is -15°C to 65°C (5°F to 140°F) while some of the Spectra displays (the black and 1 colour units) will work down to -25°C (-13°F). Commercial freezers run from around -23°C to -18°C (-10°F to 0°F) though most store freezers are nearer the high end of that range.

Quoth · 02-12-2025, 03:16 PM

The -21 °C was historic choice and there is a move towards -18 °C, now that temperature control is more accurate.

Solitaire1 · 02-12-2025, 09:38 PM

I think the introduction of e-ink price tags is a good thing. It saves a lot of work when it comes to changing the prices, and requires no power to maintain the image on the price tag. It also allows for a larger display and clearer indication of what the item is (if the tag gets moved it is clear which item it goes with).

I've had to change a large number of tags and it is a lot of work and takes a lot of time to change them since it involves physically removing and replacing stickers, which are sometimes very difficult to remove. Plus, you have to make sure that you are putting the correct sticker on the right item (often the stickers will have a cryptic description for the item and you have to check the UPC number to make sure you are putting the right sticker in the right place). It does allow easier price changes and it also ensures that the displayed prices are correct.

It is similar to when they went to electronic displays to display gas prices. With the old manual cards it would take up to 30 minutes to change the signs and if the weather was bad it would take even longer.

02-01-2025, 02:02 AM	#1
rcentros eReader Wrangler Posts: 7,771 Karma: 50741051 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Boise, ID Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD	E-Ink price tags at Walmart I went into our local Walmart (grocery section) and found that all the price tags for all items were replaced with small and color E-Ink tags. Presumably they can now automatically update prices (which might not be a good thing). Most of the tags were just black on white (or light grey) but, if the item was on sale, there was red bar highlighting the sale price. What really surprised me is that these E-Ink tags were even in the freezers. They must be a bit different than the E-Ink screens in eBooks. Looking online, I see this change-over started in June of 2024. I guess it just got to our local Walmart. https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2...and-associates Probably not that big of a deal to most. It was just weird that the last time I was there (a couple days ago) there were none of these tags, and now that's all there is. I'm personally happy to see them, because half the time the paper tags were either missing or had the wrong price (in other words, weren't updated).

02-01-2025, 03:29 AM	#2
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,435 Karma: 102739835 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	We've (Ireland) had them in Aldi, Lidl, and Musgrave owned stores (Centra, Supervalue, Superquinn for quite a while. They update them from a handheld terminal. There is a rechargeable battery so maybe the terminal inductively charges them. Obviously they only need power when being updated. Here the paper tag, or any price on the product has to be charged, if the checkout price it higher. It's not very speedy but faster than fiddling with paper. Also they can scan the barcode on the product at the tag location to get the settings for the tag – I've watched the process. The larger panels are quite grey compared to small tags. The white + black + one colour (options other than red) panels are somewhere on the Eink Corp site. Resolution doesn't seem great, but appearance is better than a 1981 Epson dotmatrix printer. Last edited by Quoth; 02-01-2025 at 03:34 AM.

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02-01-2025, 01:26 PM	#5
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 43,471 Karma: 165170834 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	For what it may be worth, the eInk tags in the local shops use a 2450 coin cell. I had fun in a Walmart when one of the staff was trying to update a price and it didn't change. My suggestion was that he try swapping the battery with another tag since the display wouldn't change with a dead battery. When he did, the price changed. Along with a lot of people, he hadn't realized the eInk tag only needed power to change the display so when they didn't update, the procedure was to swap it out and ship it to corporate.

02-10-2025, 05:36 PM	#8
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 43,471 Karma: 165170834 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	For what it may be worth, eInk shelf tags come in two temperature ranges. The normal temperature range is -15°C to 65°C (5°F to 140°F) while some of the Spectra displays (the black and 1 colour units) will work down to -25°C (-13°F). Commercial freezers run from around -23°C to -18°C (-10°F to 0°F) though most store freezers are nearer the high end of that range.

02-12-2025, 03:16 PM	#9
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,435 Karma: 102739835 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	The -21 °C was historic choice and there is a move towards -18 °C, now that temperature control is more accurate.

02-12-2025, 09:38 PM	#10
Solitaire1 Samurai Lizard Posts: 14,727 Karma: 69500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: NookColor, Nook Glowlight 4	I think the introduction of e-ink price tags is a good thing. It saves a lot of work when it comes to changing the prices, and requires no power to maintain the image on the price tag. It also allows for a larger display and clearer indication of what the item is (if the tag gets moved it is clear which item it goes with). I've had to change a large number of tags and it is a lot of work and takes a lot of time to change them since it involves physically removing and replacing stickers, which are sometimes very difficult to remove. Plus, you have to make sure that you are putting the correct sticker on the right item (often the stickers will have a cryptic description for the item and you have to check the UPC number to make sure you are putting the right sticker in the right place). It does allow easier price changes and it also ensures that the displayed prices are correct. It is similar to when they went to electronic displays to display gas prices. With the old manual cards it would take up to 30 minutes to change the signs and if the weather was bad it would take even longer.