RFID And Shopping

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an important complementary technology. In the 1980's, there was a push to barcode all items at stores. The change in the shopping experience was dramatic. You no longer needed to wait for check-out staff to tabulate totals or compute savings from coupons. For management, prices could be set at a central location.

I highlight this change because RFID will be the next step in this change. Already bulk merchandise is marked with RFID labels. Clothing and specialty shops already do this. It doesn't take a big stretch of the imagination to implement RFID in the same way as barcodes now are. RFID readers, if reliably used, can be significantly faster than barcodes.

So this is how it would change your shopping experience: long checkout lines would be eliminated. Items do not have to pass individually through a barcode reader. You can also bag items as you go, knowing they will be picked up by the reader later. These are not only huge time-savings for the customers, but it has a convenience factor as well. There would only be seconds waiting in line rather than minutes. You no longer need to worry about being in line behind somebody with a full grocery cart.

For management, RFID labeling has all the convenience of barcodes and more. Theft detection can be enhanced. Item matching and verification is easier. When purchasing shoes, sizes and styles must match. Shaving seconds off this manual process increases throughput. The majority of checkouts will be problem free and any customer issues can be dealt with at a separate aisle.

RFID labels can contain a small amount of binary data, which will be used to help verify the item's description or even cost. Once the checkout process is complete, this information can be erased or altered, so if a customer enters another store, there won't be an issues regarding where the item was purchased.

In an ideal world, as a customer, I would fill my cart with the items I wish to purchase. I would then move to the checkout aisle, which would automatically scan all items and tabulate the bill. Further, my smartphone's Bluetooth connection would process any coupons and allow me to charge against my account. It could all be accomplished before the kids get bored and start reaching for the candy.