NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hanshow, a global leader in electronic shelf labels (ESLs) and digital retail solutions, today unveiled NexShelf, its next-generation intelligent shelf solution at NRF 2026. Designed to transform the shelf into a real-time data engine, NexShelf forms the foundational layer of Hanshow's Store Digital Twin vision, enabling retailers and brands to gain unprecedented visibility, accuracy, and control at the point where sales truly happen.
Across decades of retail evolution, the shelf has remained the primary moment of truth, yet it has also been one of the least digitized areas of the store. NexShelf addresses this long-standing blind spot by combining high-precision positioning, AI-driven analytics, and an open, hybrid connectivity architecture, turning every shelf into a living, measurable digital asset.
The Shelf as the Cornerstone of the Store Digital Twin
A true digital twin only works when it reflects what is happening in the physical store in real time. NexShelf provides the ground truth data required to make this possible.
At its core, NexShelf delivers store-wide, centimeter-level product location intelligence, powered by Hanshow's Nebular Ultra ESLs and N5 AI camera. Each shelf and product becomes a precise spatial reference point, allowing the digital twin to mirror real shelf conditions with over 95% accuracy.
This real-time location capability enables retailers to instantly detect misplaced or missing products, verify planogram compliance, and identify true out-of-shelf situations without manual checks or SKU-level AI retraining.
Open, Hybrid Connectivity Built for Scale
NexShelf is built on a dual-mode communication architecture, combining Hanshow's proprietary low-power protocol HiLPC with Bluetooth support and open integration capabilities. This approach ensures both high reliability in dense retail environments and long-term openness, allowing NexShelf to seamlessly connect with third-party systems, cloud platforms, and future in-store technologies.
By minimizing power consumption and infrastructure complexity, NexShelf delivers one of the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) in large-scale shelf digitalization, making advanced shelf intelligence economically viable across entire store networks.
From Shelf Data to Actionable Intelligence
Beyond sensing and visibility, NexShelf integrates AI to transform shelf-level data into actionable outcomes. Retailers can move from delayed reporting to real-time execution, improving labor efficiency, reducing lost sales, and optimizing pricing and promotion strategies at speed.
NexShelf also enables 3D shelf visualization and digital twin rendering, allowing store teams, headquarters, and brand partners to see shelf execution as it happens. This visual layer bridges physical reality and digital operations, turning shelf data into a shared operational language across retailers and brands.
Building the Foundation for the Future of Retail
"NexShelf is not just an intelligent shelf solution, it is the data foundation of the Store Digital Twin," said Shiguo Hou, CEO of Hanshow. "By making shelf conditions visible, measurable, and actionable, we are helping retailers and brands move from assumptions to facts, and from reactive operations to proactive decision-making."
As the cornerstone of Hanshow's broader Store Digital Twin framework, NexShelf forms the core data layer of Hanshow's Store Digital Twin, connecting intelligent in-store hardware with cloud-based SaaS services. Looking forward, NexShelf will connect with complementary in-store technologies including smart carts, and automation systems, creating a scalable platform for future innovation in operational excellence, retail media, and data-driven growth.
Media Contact: info@hanshow.com
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