What can an NFC tag do on a shelf display?
Give depth to someone already holding the product. A tag is poor at attracting attention, because it is invisible, and good at answering the specific question that was about to stop a sale. Design it for the second job and not the first.
The job it is good at
Someone is holding the product and has a question the packaging does not answer. Ingredients, sizing, compatibility, provenance, how to use it.
A tap answers that question without finding a member of staff and without typing a product name into a search box that returns a competitor.
That is a narrow and valuable job. The person is already interested, already close, and one question away from deciding.
The job it is bad at
Attracting attention. A tag is invisible, so it draws nobody towards a display and cannot compete with anything printed.
Reaching people at a distance. It works on contact, so it is useless for anyone walking past.
Serving everyone. Some shoppers have no NFC and some have a phone that will do nothing when waved at a shelf, so a tag alone excludes a real minority.
And replacing staff. A tag answers a question that has been anticipated, and a shopper with an unanticipated question still needs a person.
What to put behind it
The answer to one question, immediately, on a page built for a phone held in one hand in a shop.
Not the product page from your website, which was designed for someone at home comparing options. A shopper standing at the shelf has already narrowed the choice and wants the detail that decides it.
Not a marketing film. The person is standing in a shop and will not watch it.
And nothing that requires an application, an account or a login, all of which end the interaction immediately.
Knowing whether it works
Count arrivals at the page rather than taps, since the tag reports nothing. Give each display its own address so you can tell which locations produce anything.
Expect the numbers to be small. A tag on a shelf competes with everything else in a shop, and a low count is information rather than failure.
Compare displays against each other rather than against a target you invented. The comparison tells you about placement and signage, which are the variables you control.
And decide in advance what a disappointing result would lead you to change, because a pilot that cannot fail teaches nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Will shoppers know the tag is there?
Not unless something tells them. A tag is invisible, so the signage beside it does the work of attracting attention.
Should the tag open my product page?
Usually not the same one. A shopper at the shelf has already chosen and wants the detail that decides, rather than a page built for comparison at home.
Is this better than a printed code?
For someone already holding the product, the tap is quicker. A printed code reaches people at a distance and works on every phone, so many displays carry both.
What if very few people use it?
That is the usual outcome at first and it is information. Compare displays against each other to learn what placement and signage do.