Radio Frequency Identification is not a new technology as it has been around since the WW2 when British forces used Radio waves to detect and identify enemy aircrafts. But the technology has evolved since then and now it finds use in many businesses including retail, healthcare, logistics and supply chain etc.
According to latest report by Market Research Future (MRFR) the global RFID market is growing pretty rapidly and it is forecast to grow at a CAGR (Cumulative Aggregate Growth Rate) of 13.30% between the forecast period 2022 and 2030. And the total RFID market size is bound to reach USD 40.71 Billion by the end of year 2030. The RFID tag market itself is forecast to reach USD 9.6B by 2030.
This tremendous growth rate is explained by growing demand in asset tracking and management across the world, pushed by businesses such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing and logistics and supply chain etc. while retail is the largest sector employing RFID in stores and supply chain activities. Use of RFID in end-use businesses such as RFID and healthcare for operation needs is a trending factor pushing the RFID demand.
Apart from that, RAIN RFID or the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFID technology is also quite trendy as it provides longer read-range than LF (Low Frequency) and HF (High Frequency) RFID tag segment.
In fact, RAIN RFID is the most used RFID segment when it comes to use of RFID tags in retail and logistics businesses.
Let’s see 5 RFID trends that will dominate the forecast period 2022-2030 but let’s define what RFID technology is first:
What is RFID and How It works?
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless technology that uses radio frequency signals to communicate between an RFID tagged object and an RFID reader. Dedicated software is used as well to display the data decode from the tag, by the RFID reader for the end users.
These RFID tags are of two kinds mainly, active and passive RFID tags.
Passive RFID tags do not come with batteries and use the signal from the RFID reader, when in range, to power up and send an encoded RF signal back to the RFID reader.
The active RFID tags whereas come with batteries and don’t wait for the reader signal to communicate. Like a beacon, active RFID tags can send continuous, powerful signals to the RFID reader in range. And this is why active UHF RFID has more range, up to 100m compared to passive UHF RFID which provides a range of up to 15m.
5 RFID trends driving RFID demand
RFID is a tremendously popular technology amongst other IoT (Internet of Things) technologies and as IoT has now become the internet of everything from Internet of Things, RFID has been at the forefront of this technological revolution.
RFID now presents a wide range of opportunities that can be utilized to deliver on the promises made to customers. Retailers can unlock value from RFID and enhance in-store and e-commerce retail customer experience and improving the order fulfillment.
Let’s see 5 RFID trends that have been extremely crucial to RFID growth in over the last decade and will continue to be over next few years as well:
1. The cost of RFID implementation is coming down
One very noticeable trend in RFID is that the cost of RFID deployment is coming down fast. The RFID tags/labels that were 40 cents few years ago now cost 4-5 cents. The RFID reader and software cost has also come down and this has enabled an increase in RFID adoption in developing countries like India and China along with developed nation in North America and Europe.
2. Retail is reinventing itself post pandemic slug
The pandemic forced retail to make some changes and take the help of technology to do so. Retail has been the largest driver of RFID growth as retail in North America and across Europe is increasingly using RFID to manage inventory, prevent stock outs and enhance customer experience in their physical retail stores. The retail giant Wal-Mart in September 2022 made it mandatory for its suppliers to tag boxes and pallets of toys and electronics with RFID tags for better tracking and asset visibility.
3. RFID is making supply chain robust
The supply chain and logistics business is also using RFID to make the supply chain networks more agile and responsive, removing bottlenecks and enhancing the asset tracking measures. Use of RFID with UBW and BLE has now enabled real-time tracking and 360 degree visibility when it comes to consignments and deliveries.
4. RFID for security
Another trend in RFID is use of RFID for security. While RFID is being used for tracking in many security firms, it also finds application in smart home projects and in schools and hospitals. Apart from tool and medicine tracking in hospitals, RFID is also used for access control, enhancing the overall on premise security.
5. Small size of RFID transponders is opening new doors for RFID application
Another trend in RFID applications is smart devices and jewelry tagging that is done using RFID transponders. Smart devices such as smart band, Fitbits, smart watches, smart cards, and jewelry tracking are using RFID as well and pushing the RFID demand to a new high, all due to small size of RFID labels.
The global RFID market is growing with a significant rate. The overall RFID market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 13.20 % while the RFID tag market is to grow at 13.60% CAGR between 2022 and 2030. The developing countries are also witnessing a rise in RFID demand due to a host of latest trends in RFID, pushing the global RFID applications along with IoT in business sectors like retail, healthcare, security and supply chain and logistics.
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