By
George Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, RetailWire
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has the potential to transform consumers' lives for the positive. That is the message of the Discover RFID website (www.discoverrfid.org) created by the GS1 subsidiary EPCglobal.
The site offers consumers insights into the various ways RFID is being used to improve daily living, from helping speed consumers through tollbooths to tracking food products and luggage lost by airlines. Discover RFID's tone is positive throughout, but it is clear that it also intends to address obstacles to adoption, such as the accusations that the technology will bring about a Big Brother-like intrusion into their lives.
On this question, Discover RFID offers the following response with links to resource websites: "Many groups, including EPCglobal, are working to protect the consumer's right to privacy and to educate people about RFID and the EPC. For example, the European Union and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the U.S. are also actively monitoring the progress of RFID technology and its impact on citizens. At national level, countries have various data protection laws in place and non-profit organizations monitor the legal environment to make sure consumer rights are protected."
Discussion Question
for the BrainTrust panel:
How knowledgeable do you think American consumers are about RFID and its benefits? Do consumers need to be educated about RFID? What do you see as the questions that need to be answered for RFID to continue its progress?
RetailWire
Instant Poll Results:
RetailWire BrainTrust Comments:
Everyone likes E-ZPass, so that gets RFID some appreciation. For more effective publicity, GS1 EPCglobal might consider dropping publicity for RFID applications that aren't appreciated, like airport luggage sorting. Airline lost luggage statistics are getting worse, not better, so claiming that RFID is a great consumer-driven tool for this function probably isn't an easy way to gain credibility. The best publicity is inspired by what excites the public, not what gets them furious.
- Mark
Lilien, Consultant, Retail Technology Group
The American public doesn't know squat about RFID. Probably the lunatic fringe thinks it's code for Radioactive Food Inducing Death. Let the protests begin. But most people won't really care one way or the other, or take the time to learn about it. (Much in the same way that we elect presidents.) Perhaps the best thing to do is keep changing its name. I was listening in on a Wal-Mart conference call last month, and was surprised to hear one of their executives make reference to "electronic product codes, formerly known as RFID." Hey, "electronic product codes" sounds a lot friendlier than RFID. I'm with Wal-Mart. Anything to keep the lunatic fringe a little quieter, I say.
- Warren Thayer, Editor, Refrigerated & Frozen Foods Retailer, BNP Media
| SupplyChainDigest Editor, Dan Gilmore, Says : |
 While there are some unique potential privacy threats from RFID, they are simply trivial compared to what consumers are already giving up now in terms of credit and debit card data and a whole lot more.
What do you say? Send us your comments here |
I will keep saying it until I am blue in the face. While there are some unique potential privacy threats from RFID, they are simply trivial compared to what consumers are already giving up now in terms of credit and debit card data and a whole lot more. With cash transactions rapidly disappearing--the postal service, for example, appears it is getting away from cash completely--basically everything you ever do and buy will be in Visa, Master Card, or American Express's databases. And oh, by the way, any email you send from your corporate account, the company is required to keep for 7 years, whether you delete it or not, just in case someone in a civil or criminal suit needs to get access to it later.
RFID and privacy?--it's a drop in the bucket. To badly mix metaphors, the horse has left the barn a long time ago, and no one cares.
- Dan Gilmore, Editor, SupplyChainDigest
How can we "educate consumers on the value of RFID?" How did CPG manufacturers feel when Wal-Mart kept suggesting to them that they just needed "education on the benefits of RFID in the supply chain"? An unprintable answer, right? At that time, I wrote that after two years, one would think the benefits would have started to become evident. The same is true here.
No one has to educate consumers on the value of an iPod. No one has to educate consumers on the value of plasma TVs. Your first clue that benefits are dubious or a cause is hopeless is when you "have to educate."
So as Mark suggested way back at the beginning of this thread--let the technology start to deliver value, and let the acronym fade into the background. E-ZPass, SpeedPass, SunPass, are all brand names of ways we can get through toll booths more easily. The fact that there's an RFID chip in there is irrelevant.
- Paula Rosenblum, Managing Partner, RSR Research
The use of "RFID" is about as meaningless as the use of "CRM." The value is in what these technologies "enable." We should stop talking about RFID in the context of it being a "solution" of any sort. RFID is another enabling technology that can advance the consumers' experience in almost all interaction touchpoints in commerce. In retail, it will enable major advances towards a new retail ecosystem where customers are better informed during the shopping visit, where personalization exists, and where the shopping experience, in all facets, drives both loyalty and purchasing behavior that benefits both the customer and the retailer. The way RFID is too often positioned results in a consumer perception that it is a device for "big brother" interference in privacy. It should be as ubiquitous as the mobile phone in its adoption and benefits. Let's focus on solutions where RFID's contribution is that of a technical building block within an infrastructure that delivers functional solutions of benefit to all constituents.
- Les McNeill, CEO, ImpulseLogic, Inc.
Read the entire story and RetailWire discussion at:
http://www.retailwire.com/Discussions/Sngl_Discussion.cfm/12606
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