First on some testbench, developing software, power supply, (physical) install procedures, etc. With that done, one would expect to outfit a few stores to see how they work IRL. But no:
"The initial round of installations in 2018 reached 10,300 screens in 700 stores."
As part of a $200 million plan to cover 2,500 stores.
From testbench to fitting 10k screens across 700 stores, without intermediate testrun in a few stores?!?
On the plus side: if this crashes & burns (pun intented) then it's mostly VC going up in smoke. Hopefully eating profit from Walgreens who dared to go into consumer-hostile territory. And showing other chains not to do this.
Also the difference between the firms' marketing research & actual reception by consumers is baffling. Probaby:
"Or perhaps the surveys backing this data were only ever collected in the first two days following installation at Walgreens locations adjacent to dispensaries holding free pre-roll promotions."
Of course regular shoppers are not Cooler Screens' customers. Or even chain owners(?). The brands they sell advertising space to, are.
There could be 1 consumer-friendly use: looking up label info, ingredients, nutritional value, vegetarian / vegan / halal etc, perhaps compare with alternative products. Without having to open door & grab product. Only a small screen per section would suffice. But nope...
The whole concept is just bad all around. Perhaps it's good thing this initial roll-out was poorly implemented.