As China's retail industry ushers in a new decade of innovation, the 21st China Retail Industry Expo (CHINASHOP) was successfully held from November 7-9 at the Qingdao World Expo City in Shandong. This annual event brought together industry leaders to explore the future of retail.

With advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), the integration of online and offline retail has become inevitable. Century, a renowned provider of smart commercial solutions, showcased its Smart New Retail Experience Pavilion at CHINASHOP 2019, offering a comprehensive blueprint for building next-generation retail stores.

2019 | CHINASHOP

The "Smart Brain" of Digital Stores

V-Prime™ Smart Commerce 4.0 AIoT Platform
The key to a digital store lies in seamlessly connecting people, products, and spaces. Century’s V-Prime™ platform serves as the "smart brain", integrating data through an API-driven, microservices architecture to enable:

• Unified system connectivity

• Closed-loop management

• Interactive shopping experiences

• AI-powered cost optimization

Smart Applications for Digital Stores

1. Product Digitization: Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL)

Beyond dynamic pricing, ESLs act as data carriers for:

• Expiry date management

• Shelf optimization

• Indoor navigation
  Century’s upgraded LED-enabled ESLs enhance customer-staff interaction, bridging gaps where RFID and visual recognition fall short.

2. Scenario Digitization: Smart Shelves

Powered by IoT and AI, smart shelves:

• Analyze consumer behavior

• Predict demand

• Deliver personalized promotions

• Track product engagement

3. Intelligent Checkout: Smart Payment

Century’s RFID and AI vision-based checkout systems enable bulk scanning, eliminating traditional barcode bottlenecks and reducing wait times by 70%.

4. Operational Digitization

• Smart Loss Prevention: Remote monitoring and real-time reporting to curb shrinkage.

• Fresh Delivery Optimization: RFID-tracked containers streamline logistics, cutting errors by 50%.

• Asset Visibility: RFID-powered inventory management ensures 100% accuracy (deployed at Yonghui Supermarkets).

Industry Recognition

The Smart New Retail Experience Pavilion drew widespread acclaim for its "V-Prime™ + Modular Apps" model, combining:

• ESLs

• Smart shelves

• Frictionless payments

• Loss prevention

• Fresh supply chain tech

• Asset tracking

Century also hosted a product launch session, detailing its digital store roadmap and engaging partners in deep-dive discussions.

Century remains committed to advancing retail through IoT, AI, and big data, driving smarter, faster, and more personalized shopping experiences.

The future of retail isn’t just digital—it’s intelligent.