By tracking products in real-time, radio frequency identification (RFID) gives retailers a better view of their stock, streamlines operations and boosts the supply chain.
RFID stands for radio frequency identification. It’s a technology that uses radio waves to transfer data between a tag and a reader. In retail, RFID tags are small, inexpensive chips embedded in labels or plastic tags attached to products. These tags contain product details like SKU numbers, size, and colour, enabling real-time tracking as items move through the supply chain or across store shelves.
Unlike barcodes, which require line-of-sight scanning, RFID tags can be read without direct contact, making stock management, returns process and self-checkouts faster and more efficient.
RFID technology can be used to:
Read our retail RFID blog to find out more on How it works, applications, and benefits
A GS1 report ‘Key lessons from 10 retailers using RFID’, including Adidas, Decathalon, Lululemon, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco, found 100% success rate in achieving a positive ROI within just 2 years. The report also found after implementing RFID these retailers achieved:
Faced with increasing customer demand and a changing retail landscape, Boggi Milano needed to improve inventory accuracy and stock management. Manual inventory checks were inefficient, infrequent, and prone to errors, leading to incorrect product assortments. With the introduction of RFID, the company achieved:
La Chapelle, a Shanghai-based womenswear label, has also seen benefits since implementing RFID. This solution has resulted in more efficient warehouse operations, speedier product distribution, innovative in-store experiences, and reduced reliance on manual processes. Additionally, they have achieved:
The American department store company Macy’s expanded RFID to its fashion departments, and sales volume surged more than 200%. With the RFID solution, Macy’s has seen benefits like:
Undiz improved their in-store shopping experience and streamlined operations after implementing RFID. One Undiz location:
Discover how RFID technology is transforming healthcare with real-world solutions. From patient tracking to inventory management, explore innovative applications that enhance efficiency, safety, and care quality.
With RFID tags, retailers can track every item in real-time, giving staff immediate insight into when an item is low or out of stock. This visibility makes it easier to restock shelves quickly, keeps customers happy by having popular items always available, and streamlines the goods-in process by reading items in bulk instead of scanning individually.
Streamlined stock checks will reduce the need for out-of-hours staff, and the reduction of stockouts and overordering ultimately lowers business costs.
RFID can be used at the point of sale to ensure an item leaving the store has been paid for and provides a more efficient payment process for an improved customer experience. RFID read multiple items at once, meaning customers can checkout in seconds.
Integrating into the self-checkout improves accuracy by ensuring that the correct items are paid for, preventing mis-scans or price-switching, which improves pricing accuracy and reduces fraud. This also provides a record of all paid items leaving the store and alerts to any items leaving that haven’t been paid for, helping with loss prevention.
Integrating RFID into the returns process creates a slick customer experience. Readers can be integrated into a returns bin, which requires less manpower than a manual returns desk. Customers benefit from shorter wait times and faster refunds, while employees can focus on other important tasks thanks to increased efficiency.
For shops carrying perishable goods, RFID tags equipped with temperature sensors provide real-time tracking and logging of product temperatures throughout the supply chain and in-store storage. These sensors continuously monitor conditions, ensuring that perishable items such as fresh produce, dairy, meat, and frozen goods remain within the required temperature ranges.
If a temperature deviation occurs—whether due to refrigeration failure, improper handling, or prolonged exposure to unsuitable conditions—alerts can be triggered, allowing staff to take immediate corrective action.
RFID can also streamline asset tracking for high-value equipment used in your store. By tagging assets such as handheld scanners, IT equipment, pallet jacks and trolleys, RFID ensures you always know where critical tools are located—reducing loss, improving utilisation, and preventing operational delays. With fixed RFID readers placed at key points throughout the store, you can automatically track asset movement, providing real-time insights into equipment usage and availability.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a form of wireless communication that uses radio waves to communicate information between tags (sometimes called transponders) and readers. Each tag contains information about the item it is attached to, and it broadcasts this to the reader, which may send it on to a host computer.
RFID systems can be used to track and identify people, assets, animals, and products. By attaching an RFID tag to an object or even embedding it in a product, businesses and organisations can monitor inventory, manage supply chains, enhance security, and streamline operations.
Read more in the blog: What is RFID and how does it work?
RFID technology uses three main components: tags, readers, and antennas. RFID tags are small chips embedded with data, while RFID readers emit radio waves to detect and capture information from these tags.
When RFID-tagged items pass through a reader, the reader captures real-time data on stock levels, sales, and product locations. Unlike barcodes, which must be scanned individually, an RFID reader can scan hundreds or even thousands of tags at once.
There are two main types of RFID readers:
For retailers, integrating an RFID system with your inventory can greatly enhance operational efficiency. RFID helps improve stock accuracy and visibility, enabling a seamless shopping experience for today’s omnichannel consumers, whether shopping in-store or online.
Learn about RFID technology in detail by reading our blog What is RFID and how does it work?
RFID offers businesses significant potential for cost savings, revenue growth, and risk mitigation. For example, some of these benefits include:
Read more in the blog: What is RFID and how does it work?
RFID tags are often discussed in terms of two forms:
Some hybrid versions are also available, such as battery-assisted passive systems.
Again speaking generally, active tags can be read from further away and constantly broadcast a signal, so they are ideal for continuous tracking. However, because they contain more hardware than passive tags, they tend to be bulkier. Passive tags are very affordable and can be very small, but they cannot actively broadcast; instead, they wait for a signal from an RFID reader, and then respond.
Read more in the blog: What is RFID and how does it work?
