NXP Semiconductors and France-based Store Electronic Systems (SES) have announced an agreement that they hope will spur large-scale adoption of NFC technology within the retail industry.

NXP is supporting SES with the integration of its NFC NTAG chips in SES’s electronic shelf label solutions.

The NFC tags are embedded in shelf labels, enabling users to tap their NFC phones to view product information.

The SES label is fitted with a high-definition graphic screen (127 dpi), a dynamic display (patented Dual Transistor Pixel technology), a high-speed radio transmitter (RFX4) and a NFC tag IC from NXP that enables contactless interaction with NFC-enabled smart phones.

NXP will also ensure interoperability of SES solutions with all NFC-enabled smart phone models, the great majority of which (says NXP) use its NFC technology.

Embedding NFC tags into electronic shelf labels enables retailers to offer a number of different services to brands, from digital marketing and social media integration to personalised cross-selling, up-selling and loyalty schemes.

Consumers will have access to a wealth of information on composition, origin and manufacturing of products, including calorie counts and allergy alerts, and can conveniently manage their shopping basket and gain loyalty benefits by just tapping their phone on the price label.

“We have already engaged with eight key retailers across four countries and this year will deploy millions of shelf solutions with NFC tags,” said Thierry Gadou, SES’ chief executive. “We are confident that retailers will quickly launch all available services and benefit from the value NFC brings to their business. This is why we are working closely with NXP to accelerate our plans for the industrialisation of our NFC label range.”