Checkout RFID….or Not?
RFIDWorld.ca is predicting the extinction of the bar code and the end of waits in grocery cues because of new less expensive RFID tags.
A component of their aggressive prediction is the announcement of the adoption of tag equipped apparel (jeans mostly) by the world’s largest retailer. After all whatever those big fellas want….
Another piece of the puzzle is a new technology born through a joint effort of the Suncheon National University and Rice University that can be directly printed onto a paper or plastic tags made of ink laced with carbon nanotubes.
Regardless of the promise of this new RFID development, I am a good deal more excited about the Advantage “Tunnel” Checkout introduced last week in a Hebron, Kentucky Kroger store. The objective of this multi-scanner, scale and image verification technology is to eliminate both the shortcomings in current self checkout systems caused by the potential of theft, but also the bottleneck caused by most current self checkout systems.
The Advantage Checkout offers significant plusses in terms of adaptability and control. For retailers and consumers to benefit only the retailer need commit. In the case of RFID tags, one of the biggest hurdles has always been that if not all suppliers tag their products, the RFID checkout promise will remain just that.