RFID tags are the most well-known example of IoT in retail. Without them, managing thousands of goods in-store could be daunting and costly. RFID labels tagged to the goods can help easily inventory the goods, identify the missing style on display, and replenish from back stock. By connecting to mobile devices, the shop assistant can help shoppers check the product availability, placement, and stock very easily.
RFID tags are the most well-known example of IoT in retail. Without them, managing thousands of goods in-store could be daunting and costly. RFID labels tagged to the goods can help easily inventory the goods, identify the missing style on display, and replenish from back stock. By connecting to mobile devices, the shop assistant can help shoppers check the product availability, placement, and stock very easily.
Besides the advantage above, RFID could also be integrated into retail systems and provide value added functions such as:
Customer Relationship – Tags with trust transactions that enable coupons, loyalty, and sweepstakes via real-time ‘proof of presence' technology, not only preventing fraud or false billing, but also creating better bound between retailers and consumers.
Customer Interests – Technology combining RFID tags and sensors into apparel hangers may help retailers determine the popularity of products by tracking the pieces that are the most or least interacted with.
Prevent Organised Retail Crime (ORC) – Integration of RFID tags and surveillance systems could reduce investigation time and lead to more case closure especially for ORCs. Since ORC groups usually target goods with higher price, RFID tags together with video management system would be able to alert security manager when there's an unusual product movement and track the movement instead of only identifying the theft via image after crime.
RFID tags are an ideal platform to store and connect the different data points to create an IoT-enabled environment. Already quite popular, these little tags have great potential to keep integrating with different systems to improve store management and shopping experience.