b'SMART PACKAGING GETS CUSTOMERS COMMUNICATING, SO IT IS A HUGELY VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY TO INVOLVE THEM IN YOUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY WITH A HIGHLY PERSONAL AREA LIKE PAPER AND STATIONERY.The information that can bePhoto by mentatdgt from Pexelsaccessed via the NFC chip is limitless.KEEP IT SIMPLE In the stationery industry, fans ofSmart packaging will be personal organisers shopping for refills could pass their phone over theunfamiliar to customers sopackage to make absolutely sure theit needs to be introduced pages will fit their particular folder,with care. Here are someand can receive suggestions for newdos and donts. refills at the same time. Products needing assembly at home would no longer require printed instructions inAvoid apps that need the boxthe NFC tag can send theto be downloaded, or buyer to a YouTube demo online. Andcumbersome registration there is a world of information relatedprocedures. Make sure all to the productsome bottles of Johnny Walker whisky, for example,mobiles can use the system have an NFC tag under the back labelwithout difficulty, on both that brings up tasting advice andiOS and Android. cocktail recipes.Smart packaging gets customersitem is, will be replaced by informative communicating, so it is a hugelyelectronic labels. These labels will Provide free Wifi so valuable opportunity to involve themcommunicate with smart packagingshoppers dont have to use in your community, especially with ato automatically show when an itemtheir expensive mobile data, highly personal area like paper andis out of stock in real timesaving usand make sure all data is stationery. Links to forums wherefrom scrabbling through the shelves customers can discuss products, theirhunting for items that arent there. delivered instantly. likes and peeves, can help establish aThe medium-term aim is to be able club atmosphere that will encourageto change prices in a store instantly Make it interactive, fun and them to return. David Jinks, head ofin response to market conditions.educational, with videos, consumer research at internationalSainsburys, Tescos and Morrisons courier company ParcelCompare,are all testing electronic shelf edgeanimations and, yes, emojis. says the time is now right for smartlabels and they could enable theConsumers also want packaging: We are seeing theintroduction of surge pricing, meaningauthenticity, so include introduction of smart packagingyour ice-creams go up on a hot summerlinks to the manufacture, that will let you know where yourafternoon or down when it rains, for favourite product is in the store. example, Jinks explains. Ultimately,especially for craft items Once smart packaging becomessmart packaging could be thesuch as handmade, acid-free ubiquitous, it has the potential totechnology that powers open shopping,paper. eliminate prices printed on the productwhere shoppers just load what they itself, the price being shown on anneed onto a trolley and leave the store, electronic display on the shelf edge.the bill being totted up automatically Make sure the information Electronic shelf labels will make lifeas they go round and charged to theiris up-to-date and relevant. easier for shoppers and supermarketbank account electronically. The workers, by automatically updatingelectronic shelf labels will instantly Include whole life its price to reflect price rises oradjust price at cashier-less stores that sales offers, Jinks believes. Thosemean an end to queuing at the till, orinformation such as annoying paper shelf labels thatthose dreaded automated tills withrecycling guides.usually end up on the floor or moved,their unexpected item in bagging area so you have no idea how much anwarnings, he concludes. SPRING//SUMMER 2019 55'