Years ago, the use of RFID was primarily seen as ideal for inventory. The “jeans wall” was the early use case for RFID in the retail space; ultimately, the idea was to use RFID on pallets and expanding out into single items, creating a perfect inventory system.
Of course, it hasn’t happened that way. Interestingly, RFID has branched out from the pallet level into the stores, but its use cases aren’t necessarily what was anticipated 15 years ago.
Today, the use of RFID has spread. In some cases, RFID allows the brand owner, retailer and consumer, to interconnect through NFC. In other ways, RFID has proved to be ideal for e-commerce and omnichannel sales, allowing the retailer to quickly find what the customer wants.
In the world of the COVID-19 pandemic, where consumers are looking to pick up their supplies quickly and easily, RFID is proving to be a key enabling technology.
Jill West, VP, strategic communications for Impinj, reported that the COVID-19 pandemic slowed some things down for RFID in retail, but companies are seeing more and more value and are applying it to traditional applications.
“In retail, RAIN RFID was originally used for inventory management, and now retailers are expanding usage to loss prevention and touchless self-checkout,” said West. “The touch-free automation and visibility that RAIN RFID enables are particularly helpful during the pandemic.”
Curbside pickup is growing in popularity among consumers, and RFID plays a significant role there.
“There’s a lot more buying online and picking up at the store,” West observed. “It’s becoming the norm. No one wants to wait in lines to go into stores. The store has to have the information on what they have in stock. We are seeing growth in new categories beyond apparel, including hard goods such as home improvement items, as retailers are looking at RAIN RFID to better serve their customers. They also use it to protect against shrink as well as adjust inventory when an item goes out.”
Impinj introduced its Impinj M700 series last fall, and West reported that its customers are launching their own products using the M700.
“Our partners are introducing tags using the Impinj M700 chips,” West added. “They have gone through experimentation and testing that allows them to make sure it meets retailers' specifications. Many of the tags based on Impinj M700 have gone through the ARC certification process. Our Impinj R700 reader is also being adopted by our partners, most often for supply chain applications.”