Key Emerging Retail Trends - RFID Tagging

One key retail trends we've discussed a lot around the office are RFID tagging. This technology has long depended on an improved price to performance ratio in order to be widely adopted by retailers, brands, and display manufacturers. RFID tagging (read more) promises wide-sweeping changes to the way retail displays are designed and manufactured. 

Below is the except from CrunchGear on RFID tagging price/performance breakthroughs:

"The Nikkei, a major Japanese business publication, is reporting that NEC is planning to sell RFID tag readers/writers, which are priced less than 10% compared to existing products. The company seems to have made major advancements “in the field of semiconductor research”, resulting in the drastic price cut.

The tags are compatible with all of the six worldwide radio communications standards. NEC is ready to accept orders beginning as early as this July. 10,000 of the new tags will be available for approximately $100.

NEC is expecting to rake in $1 billion in sales by 2014 by not only selling the tags but by also leasing compatible software and servers to buyers. The company seems to be willing to expand the scope of usage of RFID tags from the industrial field to the retail sector in order to achieve mass adoption."