Smart shelving unit with marketing display

A system for optimizing retail operations, comprising:

• a central computer hub in wireless communication with a computer and Wi-Fi module on at least one smart shelving unit;
• and
• at least one smart shelving unit, comprising:
• a wheeled frame having a plurality of reconfigurable shelves for receiving merchandise items thereon;
• a battery to provide electrical power for any electrical componentry on the smart shelving unit;
• a computer and Wi-Fi module configured for wireless communication with the central computer hub for exchanging information with the central computer hub;
• at least one display screen in communication with the computer and the Wi-Fi module, for displaying information related to the merchandise items placed on the plurality of reconfigurable shelves;
• an interactive touch screen configured for use by customers to purchase the merchandise from the smart shelf unit, and the interactive touch screen smaller than the at least one display screen and mounted to the smart shelf unit at an easily accessed height for customers;
• at least one low frequency Bluetooth module in communication with the computer and configured to communicate with other low frequency Bluetooth devices within range;
• and
• at least one RFID reader/scanner mounted to the smart shelving unit and in communication with the computer, the RFID reader/scanner configured to detect RFID tags associated with merchandise placed on the plurality of reconfigurable shelves, wherein the computer disposed within the equipment compartment is configured, in response to detecting via the RFID reader/scanner a newly appearing RFID tag corresponding to merchandise newly placed on one of the plurality of reconfigurable shelves, to process information associated with the newly appearing RFID tag and to control the at least one display screen to present information associated with the newly placed merchandise;
• the RFID reader/scanner configured to automatically register a removal of the merchandise from the shelf and relay this registration to the computer to provide real-time inventory updates;
• wherein the low-frequency Bluetooth module communicates with a plurality of other low-frequency Bluetooth modules on other mobile battery powered smart shelving units to track and monitor locations of the other mobile battery powered smart shelving units simultaneously to optimize retail efficiency;
• wherein the low-frequency Bluetooth module is configured to detect a signal from a customer device located within a threshold distance from the smart shelving unit for at least a threshold duration;
• wherein the customer device is associated with a particular customer via a store application installed on the customer device;
• wherein the RFID reader/scanner is configured to detect removal of an RFID-tagged merchandise item from the smart shelving unit;
• wherein the computer is configured to determine that the particular customer associated with the detected customer device interacted with the RFID-tagged merchandise item based on the detected removal of the RFID-tagged merchandise item and detection of the customer device within the threshold distance;
• wherein the computer is configured to cross reference the removal of the RFID-tagged merchandise item with information from the central computer hub and the store application to determine whether the particular customer associated with the detected customer device purchased the RFID-tagged item;
• and
• wherein the computer and/or the central computer hub is configured to transmit a follow-up message to the customer device associated with the particular customer in response to determining that the RFID-tagged merchandise item was not purchased.

A method for optimizing retail operations using smart shelving units, comprising:

• providing at least one smart shelving unit, comprising:
• a wheeled frame having a plurality of reconfigurable shelves for receiving merchandise items thereon;
• a battery to provide electrical power for any electrical componentry on the smart shelving unit;
• a computer and Wi-Fi module configured for wireless communication with a central computer hub for exchanging information with the central computer hub;
• at least one display screen in communication with the computer and the Wi-Fi module, for displaying information related to merchandise items on the at least one smart shelving unit;
• an interactive touch screen configured for use by customers to purchase the merchandise from the smart shelf unit, and the interactive touch screen smaller than the at least one display screen and mounted to the smart shelf unit at an easily accessed height for customers;
• a low frequency Bluetooth module in communication with the computer and configured to communicate with other low frequency Bluetooth devices within range;
• and
• at least one RFID reader/scanner mounted to the smart shelving unit and in communication with the computer, the RFID reader/scanner configured to detect RFID tags associated with merchandise placed on the plurality of reconfigurable shelves, wherein the computer disposed within the equipment compartment is configured, in response to detecting via the RFID reader/scanner a newly appearing RFID tag corresponding to merchandise newly placed on one of the plurality of reconfigurable shelves, to process information associated with the newly appearing RFID tag and to control the at least one display screen to present information associated with the newly placed merchandise;
• the RFID reader/scanner configured to automatically register a removal of the merchandise from the shelf and relay this registration to the computer to provide real-time inventory updates;
• wherein the low-frequency Bluetooth module communicates with a plurality of other low-frequency Bluetooth modules on other mobile battery powered smart shelving units to track and monitor locations of the other mobile battery powered smart shelving units simultaneously to optimize retail efficiency;
• placing merchandise having an RFID tag onto the smart shelving unit, wherein the at least one RFID reader/scanner detects a particular RFID tag and communicates that RFID tag information to the computer;
• exchanging information wirelessly between the computer, the Wi-Fi module, and the central computer hub, wherein the information relates to merchandise;
• displaying merchandise information on the at least one display of the smart shelving unit;
• detecting, via the low-frequency Bluetooth module, a signal from a customer device located within a threshold distance from the smart shelving unit for at least a threshold duration;
• identifying the particular customer associated with the detected customer device via a store application installed on the customer device;
• detecting, via the RFID reader/scanner, removal of an RFID-tagged merchandise item from the smart shelving unit;
• determining that the particular customer associated with the detected customer device interacted with the RFID-tagged merchandise item based on (i) detection of the customer device within the threshold distance for at least the threshold duration and (ii) detection of removal of the RFID-tagged merchandise item;
• cross-referencing the detected removal of the RFID-tagged merchandise item with information from the central computer hub and the store application to determine whether the particular customer purchased the RFID-tagged merchandise item;
• and
• transmitting a follow-up message to the customer device associated with the particular customer in response to determining that the RFID-tagged merchandise item was not purchased.