Bill Hanifin

Wal-Mart to Tag and Track Clothing

July 27, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Everyone can quit guessing what next step Wal-Mart will take in its plan to test RFID technology. According to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday, the world's largest retailer plans to tag individual men's jeans and basics to help it more effectively manage its inventory. Will Wal-Mart's actions lead to the widespread adoption of item-level RFID at retail?      [more...]

The adoption of RFID by Walmart to to manage inventory and improve in-store efficiency will be followed by competitors.

Imagine the messy pile of jeans on a table or in dressing rooms that need to be tediously reviewed for restocking in their proper place on shelves. Think now of how quickly that process can be completed through the use of RFID. This, in addition to Walmart's ability to maintain proper stock counts of popular items, is justification that offsets privacy concerns at this time.

Our privacy has already been at risk for some time and I cannot pinpoint the invasive offense that is created by trying on a pair jeans tagged with an RFID device.

Am I upset that Walmart might know what size I am trying on? Don't think so.

Will it help them to reduce shrinkage and theft? Yes.

If I were a company (Sensormatic?) making proprietary security devices, would I be concerned? Yes!