Comment by function_seven | Hacker News Reader

Comment by function_seven | Hacker News Reader

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> 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 consumer interest ("eNgAgEmEnT")

* Swapping between content display and billboard-style advertising

* Changing prices dynamically depending on weather, foot traffic, historical "engagement", national ad campaigns ("all Coke products 50% during the World Cup!"), etc.

* Pretending there's still Red Bulls in there when there aren't.

* Pretending those Red Bulls are on the 3rd shelf, right, when the stocker actually put them on the 4th shelf this time. (He forgot to read the updated Planogram email)

It's dystopian crap, I want nothing to do with it.

Well, yeah, but glass would be just as effective and much cheaper.

I'm not sure. Home fridge doors didn't traditionally have glass because it doesn't insulate as well as, well, insulation. Glass is also a leaking point in houses. Especially if they were replacing older, less efficient units, they might use less power, and seem cheaper in the long run. Bonus points if the price changes and sale tags are electronic and require less work.

The other thing these do, at least with the ads, is provide moving images. Humans notice these, so it is likely that more folks notice the drink coolers due to the movement on the screens.

They already track consumer interest - loyalty cards, regular purchases, and credit cards selling data does this.

Coke tried changing prices dependent on whether: Folks have outcried over that. The others, though: This is normal store stuff. Foot traffic is pretty predictable, and has already been accounted for. Sports events? Known if it drives your sales. Historical engagement? Probably shows in the inventory.

In general, if a planogram is updated, someone goes and changes it. I cannot think of a reason for the door to update before someone has the planogram completed, and any company large enough to have those screens now would do this (I worked at CVS, and generally was assigned planograms). Even new item reports have to have a code for completion. And most folks put most things up correctly so long as there is some sort of label there (and there probably is so long as inventory and ordering controls use barcodes).

> It's dystopian crap, I want nothing to do with it.

This is what the future looks like though. Welcome.

"I assert X is inevitable" isn't a valid argument.

> This is what the future looks like

Is it though? Is it impossible for us to stop? Or is this premature defeatism?

Depends on where you live. I don't think I'll be seeing those in quite a while personally, but in the land of unbridled capitalism... You tell me.

In a land with true capitalism these wouldn't exist because every single store with them would instantly lose all their customers. The only reason this exists is because America doesn't have a true free market or capitalism (because that's impossible) and stores are using their market position to force customers to shop there even though they would prefer not to. What are customers going to do? Go to the other massive grocery store that's miles away? Or maybe shop at the boutique that has half the selection at a markup.

Call it what you want, I just called it future because it's already reality for some, clearly.

I don't know about you, but for me the amount of ads I see decreased compared to some points in the past. I don't watch TV, I listen to music using a streaming service with a paid subscription, I actively look for interesting stuff to buy, but not because I've seen an ad. Probably because I haven't seen any recently, because I block them.

People buy some stuff on Amazon not because they were advertised a particular brand, but probably because they needed something and searched for it, compared between options, you know. This is our present. Ads on coolers in supermarkets might be just a swan song of a dying way of selling products. Is Amazon less scary that this though? Really?

Then why is it that influencers are raking in the dough? Is Madison Avenue just desperately seeking any product placement? Someone's definitely spending ad revenue on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.

My media consumption is similar to yours, but I think we're the outliers, or maybe we just slipped between the generational cracks of an evolving but still very consumerist society.

You got me there. Couldn't even begin to understand people who are growing up with social media.

Honestly I think targeted ads that are actually interesting to the person they are intended for is the only sane way out of this. No one likes ads that aren't relevant. If I'm going to be tracked and targeted, then at least don't annoy and bore me to death.

If you're not the type to buy shit, at some point they'll figure out to stop making ads for your type.

I know I personally would just avoid any store with these, I already hate the fast food animated Menzies where they rotate between menu and ads and I don’t go to those places

I think the future is a lot closer to something between Instacart and Amazon Go. This is what dying companies do to eek out a little more revenue at their last few customers' expense. Companies that rely on "innovations" like this for the future will not survive.

I agree, elaborated in a comment in this tree. Doesn't mean that it's not going to happen though, for a while at least, in some places.

Just open the door before you look

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