“The benefits of RFID technology in retail businesses include accurate inventory, theft prevention, enhanced item-level visibility, quick POS operations and improved customer experience, enhanced sales, etc.”
Radiofrequency identification, or RFID, is a versatile technology that has been employed in a wide range of applications. It has become an irresistible force in the retail and supply chains and logistics industries.
Retailers are incorporating RFID technology into their stores and warehouses, supply chain networks, and deploying inventory management software systems integrated with RFID technology to boost their physical retail store sales and e-commerce success. A global retail survey by Deloitte in 2018 stated that e-commerce retail sales account for 10% of total retail sales globally. With increasing smartphone penetration in developing nations like China and India, e-commerce retail sales are projected to reach 20% by 2024.
Implementing RFID technology to remove supply chain bottlenecks and streamline in-store management offers numerous benefits for retailers.
Implementing RFID to Boost Retail Sales
First of all, RFID technology is an upgrade over the barcode technology that has been in use in retail since the 1970s. Item-level tagging with RFID labels offers huge benefits in not just retail warehouses but in physical retail stores as well.
Retail giants such as Walmart, Amazon, JD.com, Target, etc. are increasingly deploying RFID technology in their retail stores and making it mandatory for suppliers to tag their retail supplies to the stores with RFID labels.
Let’s see some Benefits of RFID in Retail Business in detail:
Accurate Inventory and no ‘Out of Stock’ Cases with RFID
Maintaining the stocks, shipping, and distribution is one of the most important parts of keeping records. They should be accurate and up-to-date. RFID warehouse management system makes it easy for retailers to prevent out-of-stock scenarios and establish an accurate inventory. RFID tags on each item help you keep track of your stock while entering the warehouse, shop, or distribution centers. The ability to scan hundreds of retail items at once, using a handheld RFID scanner or a fixed reader is a key feature of RFID in retail unlike barcoding which demands products to be scanned one at a time.
RFID Technology in Retail Enhances Shopping Experience
Your happy customers are your regular customers. Their feedback matters and it also decides your retail sales and profits. With RFID technology at POS, in your store, customers don’t have to worry about the check-out queue. RFID technology allows the customers to self-checkout as the RFID reader can already scan all the products a shopper has in his cart. It also makes it easy for customers to find the required information about the product. Thus, RFID technology in retail stores enhances customer experience and boost sales.
RFID Prevents Inventory Shrinkage in Retail
One of the most annoying aspects of owning a retail business is inventory shrinkage. Employers can better track and identify missing items from their inventory by using RFID tags on each and every item in the warehouse and the store. RFID scanners can prevent dishonest staff/customers from stealing your products in the stockroom by providing you with real-time tracking on every item coming in and out of the store.
RFID Offers Greater Efficiency in Retail
At every end of retail, from the factory to the shop floor, RFID makes a significant difference in operational efficiency. Regardless of whether it's a fixed or handheld RFID scanner, it can read hundreds of products at once and since each item has a unique ID, it can never be read twice. The signals can also be read without requiring a line of sight. RFID inventory counts and inbound/outbound checks are exceptionally quick and accurate. As a result, they are far more convenient to do and can be done many times per week rather than once per year. So whether it is auditing, replenishment, putaway, reshuffle, or other store or warehouse operations, RFID offers a greater degree of efficiency.
Better Security with RFID
RFID technology gives you a lot more information about the products and the store. The most important feature of RFID is its product tracking capability, which allows it to follow the whereabouts of any item in real time. It's been praised as a good way to cut down on shrinkage and theft. Anti-shoplifting alarms are used with RFID technology. The objects are tracked when a customer passes through RFID gates that read radio wave signals. If an item tag is not deactivated at the time of purchase at POS, it creates tiny electric currents that transmit radio waves to the readers. These currents help in the detection of the tag's status by sounding an alarm.
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To summarize, RFID technology offers numerous benefits in retail business whether it is in-store operations or warehouse management operations. RFID labels can be attached to each retail item, allowing for item-level tracking of each item, from supply chain and logistics to warehouse, store, and finally to consumers. Whether it is groceries, entertainment, sports, apparel, and shoes, or home and furniture, all the retail merchandise can be tagged with RFID tags, and a unique EAN or UPC can be allotted to each item, encoding it in the RFID chip.
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