Color Pole Displays Offer VARs More Selling Opportunities

New technology advancements with pole displays are changing how the retail industry views this product. In the past, some retailers were reluctant to include pole displays with their point of sale (POS) systems. These retailers claimed that the pole displays were not necessary components for POS. However, the introduction of color graphic LCD pole displays may change this perception.

Vendor Introduces Color LCD Pole Displays
IEE (Industrial Electronic Engineers, Inc) of Van Nuys, CA, has introduced two pole display product lines that have color graphic LCD modules and provide dual input capability. The two products are named SHOP PLUS II and SHOP PLUS. The Smart color graphic SHOP PLUS II is a 5.6-inch diagonal VGA, color active matrix LCD in a pole display housing. The SHOP PLUS is a 7.7-inch diagonal VGA, color passive matrix LCD with similar housing. The IEE pole displays support UPOS (OPOS and JavaPOS) and the USB standards.

Because the pole displays provide a serial interface, the controller in these displays can interpret the output from an existing line display interface and place it on the graphic display. In many instances, the controller can present the transaction data in a scrolling format to take full advantage of the resolution of the graphic screen. In addition, the serial input allows the pole display to operate immediately on an existing transaction output without the need for costly and time-consuming revisions.

Advertising Value Of Color LCD Pole Displays
The pole displays' second input supports an Ethernet 10BaseT interface. This allows the display to download static or dynamic graphic files from a central location in the store. This also allows point of purchase (POP)/advertising messages to be downloaded throughout the store to all pole displays or to auxiliary advertising displays whenever the transaction interface is inactive.

Retailers who effectively use these pole displays in strategic positions have the opportunity to sell advertising to suppliers. The pole displays have the ability to attract customer attention, to entertain and inform customers, and to present advertising. Thus, for retailers, pole displays can become a source of revenue.

Why Color LCD Displays Provide More Value
Past technology advancements with pole displays have addressed the use of advertising messages on screen. However, two and four-line graphic monochrome pole displays have had limited success. The reason? These displays were not as eye-catching as the color LCD displays and did not include entertaining segments.

The color LCD pole displays can be turned to face aisles in order to attract and retain attention with colorful information and advertising segments. The color LCD pole displays can be used in supermarkets, retail, automotive, entertainment, hospitality and industrial applications with potential enhancements such as touch screens and video inputs.