The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on retail and has led to dramatic changes in consumer behavior. The retail industry that has risen from the ashes of the past two years faces an entirely different industry model. Today, e-commerce and digital strategies have to coexist alongside traditional brick-and-mortar stores, which means retailers need to develop their omnichannel proposition – that fully integrates online and offline – to survive.
At the heart of any omnichannel strategy is the ability to create a seamless customer experience across all sales channels, whether they be digital, in-person, or both, while adapting to ever-changing consumer expectations. While many retailers focus on sales and marketing, fulfillment, logistics and operations are equally important steps in the omnichannel experience, and technology can provide retail solutions designed for an open and transparent supply chain.
What is RFID and how can it benefit retail?
With one in three purchases now being made through an omnichannel channel, according to McKinsey and Company, ensuring inventory accuracy can significantly improve sales and the overall customer experience. Technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) can help retailers replenish inventory more efficiently while providing customers with a smoother shopping experience.
RFID has fundamentally transformed retail by allowing tags attached to items to be automatically identified and tracked, allowing for easier and more accurate inventory counting and providing retailers with up-to-date inventory visibility and item-level traceability across their stores, warehouses and supply chains.
When shopping online, RFID-enabled inventory tracking can speed up picking, packing and delivery, showing the customer all the goods that are available. It provides a more seamless connection between online and offline, allowing access to a product at any point in the retail network, both in distribution centers and in stores.
How RFID technology can improve the customer experience
Retailers can not only use RFID for inventory processes, but also improve their customers’ shopping experience through the use of this technology. RFID enables a faster and more accurate self-checkout process and even makes “smart” fitting rooms possible, giving customers customized information about other sizes and colors that are in stock.
RFID can also be deployed to enable Buy Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS), curbside pickup and same-day home delivery, all of which have become increasingly popular since the pandemic as constantly changing customer purchasing habits.
How to develop your RFID strategy
Devices and software are the pillars of every RFID system. Checkpoint’s cloud-based solution HALO uses RFID technology to track each item of merchandise from manufacture to store. With this SKU-level visibility, retailers and brands can leverage every unit of their inventory, regardless of its location or how the customer is buying it.
Additionally, retailers can view their RFID-enabled inventory in real-time and at the item level, which in turn improves inventory accuracy. Research by Professor Adrian Beck of the University of Leicester confirms this and shows that inventory accuracy can increase from 65-75 percent to 93-99 percent through the use of RFID technology.
RFID can also provide better insight into customer needs, which can help increase sales by providing information about future strategies – from where merchandise is in the store to how certain products behave in different regions.
RFID in retail – a revolution in inventory
The Checkpoint RFID system can also revolutionize the process of inventory counting by using a handheld RFID device. Store associates can scan shelves, hangers and displays and typically receive accurate inventory information within 30-45 minutes.
The speed at which RFID can accurately track inventory and location also significantly reduces labor costs and time by eliminating the need for manual inventories. Additionally, brands and retailers with high inventory accuracy can increase sales significantly, by an average of 1.5 to 5.5 percent, with some retailers seeing increases of up to 10 percent.
Checkpoint Systems offers a complete portfolio of RFID solutions, from tags and inlays to cloud-based software to encoding and labeling hardware. The company’s solutions are deployed in stores, distribution centers and factories around the world. The team has extensive experience implementing this technology and supports retailers in all aspects of RFID implementation.
For more information on how RFID can support your business, contact the Checkpoint team at [email protected].