Electronic Shelf Labels Leave Me Squinting

Depending on where you live and where you shop you’ve probably run across a store or two that may now be using Electronic Shelf Labels to display product prices. I’ve seen them in the several different grocery stores I shop. There are some interesting concerns about these that I’ll get into below, but first I want to address what I see. Or can’t. 

I understand that these new labels will make it easier for stores to change prices. No more paper signs, or employees cluttering up the aisles while slapping on new price tags. (Blocking store aisles is lately reserved for the carts gathering items for people doing curbside pickup or Instacart.) 

What these Electronic Store Label’s don’t do is make it easy on customers. Especially those of us with older eyes who can hardly read the fine print. Also those of us with older knees and hips who have a tough time bending down to read the tiny print on lower shelves.

I fall into both categories. I have always carried a pair of reading glasses with me when I grocery shop, but even with those I can’t read the pricing info placed so close to the floor.

I’ve spoken with several store managers about this, all of whom seem sympathetic as they shrug their shoulders blaming corporate bosses for the change. 

I’ve resorted to taking pictures with my smartphone so I can check the info, which I guess isn’t necessarily a bad thing, But it is an inconvenient one. I find this move as distinctly inconvenient and as unpleasant a shopping experience as I did when stores all moved to self-checkout as their preferred way of moving customers through checkout lines like cattle. 

The other issues I spoke about earlier are concerns some have about how the ease of changing prices could affect consumers. Think surge pricing or dynamic pricing based on the time of day or popularity of a product. That’s bound to happen somewhere. (Don’t ever put anything beyond the imagination of bean counter.) 

Of course we’ll probably also see technical difficulties causing confusion. Check out this one. 

I’m reasonably sure that’s not a Rock Creek Bike costing $112 somehow misplaced in the processed cheese aisle that’s causing blank displays all around.

I’m sure we’ll hear more about this as Electronic Shelf Labeling becomes more widespread. But in the meantime, give customers a break with the tiny print in places to difficult to read. 

Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to this blog if you care to. You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links.

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The Eye Drops That Could Make Reading Glasses a Part-Time Job

ar Cherubs, if you’ve recently found yourself holding menus at arm’s length like you’re negotiating a peace treaty, welcome to presbyopia. The good news? Science may have just handed you a tiny bottle of rebellion.

Let’s start with the basics. Presbyopia is the slow, inevitable stiffening of the eye’s lens that tends to show up around age 40. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, it affects billions globally. Translation: if it hasn’t hit you yet, it’s circling.

For decades, the fixes have been predictable—reading glasses, contact lenses, or surgery if you’re feeling bold. Now, a new player has entered the chat: medicated eye drops designed to sharpen near vision without permanently changing your eyes. Yes, really.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH VIZZ?

The treatment in question is reportedly called VIZZ, a daily eye drop containing 1.44% aceclidine. According to reports surrounding U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals of similar therapies, this class of drugs works by temporarily adjusting how your eye handles light rather than reshaping it.

In plain English: no lasers, no scalpels, no lifelong commitment. Just drops.

Aceclidine triggers a controlled narrowing of the pupil—what experts call miosis. This creates a “pinhole effect,” a trick photographers have been using forever. Smaller aperture, sharper focus. Your eye, apparently, can play the same game.

The result? Improved near vision without significantly messing with your distance vision. According to clinical data submitted to regulators (as reported in ophthalmology coverage by outlets like Healio), effects can kick in within about 30 minutes and last up to 10 hours. That’s basically a full workday of reading emails without squinting like you’re decoding ancient scrolls.

HOW GOOD IS IT, REALLY?

Here’s the part where expectations need a gentle reality check. These drops don’t “cure” presbyopia. They manage it—temporarily.

Think of them as reading glasses you don’t have to remember to carry. Convenient? Absolutely. Permanent? Not even close.

There are also trade-offs. Pupil-constricting drops can reduce night vision and may cause mild headaches or eye redness in some users, according to clinical discussions reported by ophthalmology sources. So while it’s giving “miracle,” it’s more accurately “very clever workaround.”

Still, the appeal is obvious. A reversible, non-invasive option that fits into a daily routine is exactly what many people want. No surgery anxiety, no extra accessories—just a quick fix before you tackle your to-do list.

Hot take: this isn’t about eliminating glasses. It’s about flexibility. You might still need them, just… less often.

And in a world obsessed with convenience, that’s a big deal.

Interestingly, shifts like this—small innovations that change everyday habits—are often where the real disruption happens. As noted by thisclaimer.com in broader discussions about consumer tech and lifestyle trends, it’s not always the dramatic breakthroughs that win, but the subtle ones that quietly slide into your routine and refuse to leave.

So, will eye drops replace your reading glasses forever? Probably not. Will they make you forget where you left them a little more often? Bet.

Sources:
American Academy of Ophthalmology — https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-presbyopia
Healio (ophthalmology news coverage) — https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology
U.S. Food and Drug Administration — https://www.fda.gov
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com

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