Macy's Kids Get SmartPaper

Macy's East, the New York-based division of Federated Department Stores (Cincinnati), has announced plans to install electronic signs from Gyricon Media, Inc. (Palo Alto, Calif.) in its Bridgewater, N.J., store. Gyricon Media, a recent Xerox spinoff, has introduced what it calls SmartPaper technology, a new type of updateable signage that uses wax balls on paper that react to positive and negative forces. The technology allows price-changing and updating without the need to print new signs. The project will involve 15 signs in the store's new Kidz Zone children's department.

The SmartPaper technology is part of Gyricon Media's MaestroSign Systems, which allows retailers to change signs instantly from either a central location or individual stores.

The Macy's signs will be installed in June, and the in-store-testing period will last for approximately six months, through Christmas. Gyricon and Macy's East have developed a series of measured metrics to determine the success of the project; the metrics can be extrapolated, where applicable, to determine what the effects would be on an entire store. The areas of measurement will include: positive customer experience (through regular customer interviews), pricing integrity, sales lift, in-store employee reaction (through employee interviews), material and supplies savings, direct sign labor savings, indirect labor savings (price checks, management time, etc.) and reliability of signs. “We are interested to see how Gyricon Media's MaestroSign Systems solution will enhance the customer experience at our Bridgewater store,” says Ben Diss, Macy's director of information systems. “We see this as an excellent opportunity tofurther secure pricing integrity and improve the overall aesthetic of the store.”

Gyricon Media has also formed a strategic alliance with POP provider Thomson-Leeds (New York) to distribute SmartPaper-based signs in North America for two years. Thomson-Leeds, a division of Array Marketing Group, will also work with retailers and brands to design their own POP displays using SmartPaper. Thomson-Leeds counts among its customers Microsoft, Phillip Morris, American Express, Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods.