RFID Back in Business

A look at why decisionmakers across retail are looking at investing in RFID, a 50-year-old technology that has risen to prominence again

- Mannu Mathew

When RadioFrequency Identification (RFID) became commercially available 50 years ago, it held a lot of promise, especially in an industry like retail that required precision in inventory management. However, being expensive, the technology didn’t see much adoption despite its potential.

The technology not only persisted but has also evolved over the years to become more relevant and affordable, making it one of the preferred choices for retail decision-makers. A significant cant 58%of warehouse decision-makers plan to deploy RFID by 2028 in their operations to help increase inventory visibility and reduce out-of-stocks, according to the Warehouse Vision Study 2023 by Zebra Technologies.

Furthermore, a majority of warehouse decision-makers plan to deploy fixed, passive or handheld RFID readers that can better track assets, workers and goods throughout the warehouse environment, the study found.

There are multiple areas where retailers are trying to use RFID to either enhance customer experience or reduce the cost of operations, say experts.

“RFID is a technology which is very old and going to have a huge impact in retail as it is now available and accessible,” said Ranjan Sharma, CIO and Supply Chain Head, of Bestseller India, a fashion and apparel brand.

Why RFID?

Retail operations pass through a series of steps from inventory to return management. Often, keeping track of all the stages manually becomes laborious and ends in errors and delays, and impacts protability.

According to recent data from Shopify, which helps small businesses build an online presence, inventory is the largest expense for retailers. For every dollar US retailers make, they have $1.40 of inventory in stock.