RFID Insider Discusses RFID in the Retail Industry with Identiv’s Lou Modell and Nick Lukianov

By Laurie Wiegler

Chockfull of great insights by Identiv’s Lou Modell and Nick Lukianov, RFID Insider just published “Putting a Lot of Store in RFID”, highlighting RFID in the retail industry. Check out this excerpt:

A race is on, and it’s hardly visible to the naked eye. It’s the one that is prompting fashion retailers to jump onboard with a technology that has earned its fair share of criticism.

Privacy concerns about the use of RFID at department stores, where men, women and children try on clothes, is countered by retailers’ thirst to gain as much information as they can from the moment you enter the door.

And as smartphone technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, formerly dubious consumers just may keep pace with sellers’ absorption of the technology.

Analyzing Loyalty
“It’s about the analytics,” says Lou Modell, VP of sales for Identiv. Retailers are becoming more and more concerned with recording inventory accurately and quickly, and RFID and NFC are the way to do it.

His company has enjoyed “a handful” of clients in the retail space including fashion, and he’s seen the innovative ways RFID is being employed, including on sports jerseys and jewelry.

Modell dismisses the backlash: “RFID technology has been around a long time – so why is it only becoming more and more popular today? There will always be naysayers. I am sure there were people who bet against Ford and said, ‘Who needs the car?’”

Modell’s colleague Nick Lukianov, director of business development, says that retailers have known RFID’s advantages for some time.

“First, take a look at Burberry — that really has probably been a leader as far as implementing a system, a customer education/loyalty system that allows someone to pick up a piece of clothing and approach a …display screen and get additional information, such as video information on a specific product.”

Keep reading here.