The vision gets a quick recap. Most of this page covers what you need to buy, set up and learn, starting with your shop as the test lab.
None of this is the final plan. We need to talk it through together and make the final decisions on our call. Expect this page to change as we go.
A local commerce operating system: a retail media network and a voucher exchange running on the same screens, cards and app.
Local shops. They host the screens, accept vouchers and get new customers. Hardware and services are subsidized.
Brands paying to reach those customers through the retail media network. They pay for attributable redemptions, so they can see what worked.
People who receive a card or voucher, redeem it at a shop, pass it on or trade it on the exchange.
| Layer | What it does | What reaches your shop |
|---|---|---|
| Content factory | Generates and publishes creative, then learns from the results. | Print-ready files |
| Retail media network | Screens in shops carrying local offers and sponsor spots. | Screens and media players to stage, ship and swap |
| NFC cards | Each card is a pointer to an account or offer held on the server. | Card printing, encoding and packing |
| Parallel POS | Redemption runs beside the shop’s till, on phones, with no till integration. | Your staff test it at your counter |
| Voucher exchange | Vendor A’s products sell in vendor B’s storefront. Smart lockers are a later idea. | Nothing yet |
One vendor from signup through to results. Each row shows who does that step.
The first screens go on your own wall. Everything a vendor will experience, and everything you will do for vendors, gets proven there first.
Runs unattended for two weeks. Recovers from a power cut and a Wi-Fi drop. I can fix it remotely.
A customer presses Redeem at the till. Your staff member accepts on their own phone. Both phones show the same confirmation.
An order goes through print, encode, pack and ship without help from me, and you know how long it took.
One customer-facing in the shop. One on the bench for burn-in, imaging and swap practice.
A first field wave of 2 anchor locations and 8 vendors. Get quotes now, but don’t buy these yet. The 10 came from the Gemini chat, so we can change it.
| Item | Spec | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 43″ commercial panel, rated for long daily hours. Gemini estimate $650–$950; get real quotes. | Proposed |
| Media player | Raspberry Pi class kit, preloaded and tested. Gemini estimate $79–$119; get real quotes. | Proposed |
| Mount and cables | VESA wall mount, HDMI, power. Confirm against the panel you choose. | Proposed |
| Quick-start card | One side, printed by you: plug in, join Wi-Fi, who to call. | Proposed |
| Counter terminal | None. Redemption happens on staff phones, so don’t buy scanners or tablets for this. | Decided |
| From the vendor | A wall, power and Wi-Fi. | Proposed |
No packing spec exists yet, so this is my starting point. The aim is that a vendor or a local installer can finish setup without calling either of us.
You don’t need a payment-style terminal here. Encoding is a small Linux PC running our tool, with a USB reader on the desk.
| Item | Spec | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Reader | ACS ACR1552U, about $45. Buy two: one in use and one cold spare. | Decided |
| Card chip | NTAG 21x for the pilot, at about $0.20 per tag. 191 blank NTAG215 cards existed in May; we need to confirm the count and where they are. | Decided |
| Computer | Any small Linux PC or laptop on your shop’s internet connection. | Proposed |
Locking is permanent, so run test cards before any production batch. Time a 100-card run in the lab so we know your real capacity.
The tool works today on the older ACR122U reader and writes Kit URLs. I need to test it on the ACR1552U, point it at Tessella and make sure it doesn’t depend on my home server. Please don’t start production encoding until I’ve confirmed this.
The card is only a pointer. The account redeems the offer, and the offer lives on the server, which is why print never needs to carry it. This model is still settling, so check with me before a large print run.
| Card | Looks like | Print rule |
|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | Blank matte black. Personal, contact and loyalty card. | Unprinted |
| Type 2 | White PVC with the vendor’s branding. | Shows the brand and that a gift exists, never its value |
| Type 3 | Vendor slot left blank. Redeems only at a non-member shop. | Never name a vendor |
Blank packs skip the proof steps and ship the same day. The shipping-label provider isn’t chosen yet.
A paying vendor needs fresh content without having to manage it. The content factory drafts it, a person approves it, and it goes out to screens and print.
| Step | What happens | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor intake | Collect the logo, photos, products, current offers and any brand rules at signup. | To decide |
| Brief | The system proposes what to run next, based on the vendor’s offers, the season and past results. | Me |
| Generate | Copy, images and layouts are drafted for each format the vendor uses. | Me |
| Approve | A person checks every draft before the vendor sees it, then the vendor signs off. | To decide |
| Deliver | Screen content publishes remotely. Print-ready files go to your shop’s queue. | Me for screens, you for print |
| Learn | Redemption results feed the next brief. | Me |
Dashed boxes have no owner yet. If a reviewer or vendor wants changes, the draft goes back to the content factory.
Your shop staff can take on some of this work, but we need to plan for more capacity as subscribers grow.
This is the current campaign calendar, reduced to what each campaign asks of your shop. I’d use the lab results to decide which of these we can really take on.
| Campaign | When | Your preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Founders | Now | Have blank packs ready to ship the same day. |
| CES | Sales Oct–Nov, fulfilment in December for Jan 6–9 | Booth collateral, swag and cards. Reserve December capacity. |
| Holiday | From mid-November; nominations through Nov 28 | Businesses’ customer-gift runs land in your peak print season. Tell me how much you can take. |
| Relaunch | December build, January launch | Pick which of your existing customers should go first. |
I’ve left out calendar dates on purpose. Each step opens when the one before it passes, and we can put dates on them together once you’ve answered the questions below.
The questions below, plus real prices for panels, players and mounts.
Tested on the ACR1552U, writing Tessella URLs and independent of my home server.
Two readers, the PC and two kits. I supply the player image.
Screen, counter and production tests all done, with results written down.
Pack it, ship it, install it, and force one remote fix and one swap.
Change the 10 if the lab and the first vendor tell us to.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Can your equipment print on PVC or NFC card stock? | I have no record either way. If not, we use blanks with stickers or an outside printer such as GoToTags, whose May price was about $1.04 per card at 1,000. |
| Where do the screens and bench go? | We need a customer-facing wall with power and Wi-Fi, plus bench space for burn-in and encoding. |
| Who on your team runs encoding and kit staging? | That person learns the tool first and tests it with me. |
| What can you produce for envelopes? | Stock, size and a quote for a first run. This is the print work most clearly yours. |
| How does an order clear Flex? | Every sale has to clear it, and I need access to the prices. |
| What is your shipping setup? | Carrier accounts and label tools already in place decide what we choose, including how return labels work. |
| Who handles local installs? | This tells us how far your team reaches before we need outside installers. |