Will RFID Take Off Now That Tag and Hardware Prices Have Dropped?
Among the objections put up by companies that have chosen not to use radio frequency identification technology (RFID) in the past, particularly at the item level, is the cost of the needed hardware and tags. RFID vendors say costs have come down in recent years. So will that mean greater adoption at retail?
The price of tags has dropped 40 percent in the past year-and-a-half to between seven and 12 cents or less depending on tag specs and the number needed, according to Truecount Corporation, a RFID supplier. Hardware is down more than 30 percent over the past two years.
While there are clearly some retail situations where RFID is not the answer, the technology does have a role to play in higher margin categories such as fashion where reducing theft is an ongoing objective for merchants. According to ChainLink Research, over one billion apparel items were tagged in 2012.
RFID has a critical role to play in retailers' omni-channel initiatives, says ChainLink Research. Merchants need to be able to find wanted merchandise wherever it may be in their system. Using RFID, retailers can locate inventory from stores, distribution centers, a manufacturer, etc. and move it directly to the consumers.
While reducing out-of-stocks is a common benefit associated with the use of RFID, a tweet by @RFIDinRetail reminds followers that the technology also has a role to play in reducing overstocks, gaining planogram compliance and achieving smarter shelf assortments:
