It’s no secret that a customer who has a poor experience in a store will likely not return and often shares their experience with others, on social media or on review websites. That’s bad for a retailer’s business. But it gets worse: A 2019 study found that a potential customer who discovers a negative review is more than 51% less likely to purchase from that retailer, with many people searching for a competing item and some paying more for the item when they finally make the purchase. (Source: Measuring the Impact of a Single Negative Customer Review on Online Search and Purchase Decisions).
With such a high degree of potential damage occurring due to negative customer experiences in store, how can retailers better satisfy shoppers? One way to enhance the customer experience is to adopt technology that addresses some of the key consumer pain points, such as checkout, personalized service and inventory levels and location. For many retailers, the answer lies in RFID.
One area where RFID technology has already proven its value is in enabling retailers to provide a seamless and frictionless checkout experience. With RFID tags on each item, the checkout process becomes faster and more efficient. Instead of scanning each item individually, the RFID reader can detect and register all items in the cart at once, reducing wait times, eliminating the need for customers to take each item out of their cart and minimizing the risk of errors associated with traditional barcode scanning. With a faster and smoother checkout process, customers are more likely to leave the store on a positive note.
With all the shopping choices consumers have today, they expect a more personal in-store experience. Retailers can differentiate themselves from their competition through the level of personalized service they provide. With RFID, retailers can track customer behavior and purchase history to gain insights into their preferences and tailor offerings to match their needs. A store may offer recommendations and promotions that are likely to interest the customer, such as accessories to complement an outfit the customer is trying on in the fitting room or replacement bags for a vacuum, they’ve added to their shopping cart. By personalizing the customer’s in-store journey, retailers create a more engaging and relevant shopping experience, which leads to increased customer loyalty and sales.
Inventory is perhaps the most common and well-known use of RFID technology. By continuously tracking inventory levels with RFID tags, retailers can gain real-time visibility into stock levels and restock products as soon as they run low, ensuring they have the right product on the shelf at the right time and reducing the likelihood of out-of-stock situations, which can lead to lost sales and disappointed customers. Likewise, RFID tags on products improve the efficiency of store associates by allowing them to quickly locate items, check inventory levels and provide customers with accurate information. RFID also reduces the time it takes associates to complete inventory counts and restocking - time that can go back into delivering the exceptional service today’s customers expect.
The benefits of RFID technology in retail extend far beyond basic inventory control. Through its use in other areas of the retail environment, RFID can be leveraged to create a more engaging and positive shopping experience for customers, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty, and ultimately generating more sales for the retailer.
