The tags in the Altierre system are wireless LCD display devices that can be placed on shelves like normal price tags. Since the Altierre system is fully networked, pricing and promotion data can be generated for all stores at the retail headquarters and downloaded to each store. At the local store, the Altierre system takes over and automatically sends the data ‘over the last mile,’ so to speak, over its wireless platform to the RF Display Tags. The system makes dynamic pricing and promotion a reality, giving the flexibility to change the price of any product in one or all of the stores in a chain, based on store traffic, season and competitive strategies. As an example, the tags let retailers launch promotions such as ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ almost instantly. At the local store level, with the click of a mouse, a grocery store manager could drop prices for a happy hour sale, and just as easily with another click return prices back to normal just in time for the dinner rush.

According to the article, the foundation of the company’s solution is its mixed-signal chip technology interacting with its RF Systems platform. Its software technology platform is built on top of its custom RF technology stack, which allows for a massively scalable ultra-low-power network of display tags, sensory tags and active and passive RF tags to coexist in an integrated fashion within its long-range RF network.

The Altierre server appliance sits as a local node in a distributed computing network to provide control and communications via its RF network. It provides integration with other local appliances, contains system-monitoring functionality, and enables applications such as electronic pricing solutions, inventory, store operations, sensor networks, supply chain, and asset tracking. It also has built-in support for future RFID applications when individual-item RFID finally becomes cost-effective.

With the system, a store can update the product information displayed on 10,000 labels in less than an hour. The stores piloting the system have typically installed two Wireless Access Points – high volume transports that control 25,000 shelf tags deployed across a sales floor measuring 50,000 square feet.

For those of us in the digital signage industry the question to be asked is why isn’t this connected to the in-store digital signage network and therefore supporting the application by driving customers to the products in the store. This seems to be a logical addition to the technology. Consider, when all of those product tags are being updated for promotions, seasonal sales or just price changes the in-store promotions are also updated to reflect the changes made to the prices.

IDC has estimated the total global spending on retail software, in all sub-segments and across all retailer revenue levels, to grow to $20.1 billion in 2010. With most major players like IBM, SAP, and Oracle trying to take a bite off this pie, Altierre has a promising road ahead with its innovative end-to-end solutions addressing the everyday problems of retailers.

The food retail vertical (supermarkets, grocery, and convenience stores) in the U.S. alone offers a $10 billion market to Altierre. Addressing a major pain point within the $3 trillion U.S. retail industry, Altierre is effectively attacking the ‘next big thing’.