RFID technology is gradually penetrating into various industries, and the apparel industry is undoubtedly one of the areas that has benefited the most. RFID item-level tags, with their fast and accurate identification capabilities, are gradually replacing traditional manual counting methods, greatly optimizing inventory management processes and improving the operational efficiency of the retail industry.
It has played an important role in many links in the apparel field
The first application of RFID technology in the apparel industry is inventory counting. Traditional inventory counting often requires a team to spend one or two days to complete after the store closes, which not only affects the normal operation of the store, but may also cause errors in the inventory results due to human factors. RFID tags can achieve a seamless process, and a few employees can conduct inventory counting during business hours with minimal impact on store operations. This order of magnitude improvement enables retailers to manage inventory more actively, more frequently, and more accurately, effectively reduce losses, avoid out-of-stock phenomena, and thus reliably complete online orders for store inventory and improve customer satisfaction.
In addition to inventory management, RFID technology has also shown great potential in the checkout process. RFID-assisted checkout by employees, or even self-checkout by consumers, greatly speeds up the checkout process and reduces consumers' waiting time. In addition, RFID anti-theft systems can not only determine in real time whether unpaid goods have left the store, but also accurately identify which goods they are, providing retailers with more accurate anti-theft means.
However, the application of RFID technology in the apparel industry is not limited to the above areas. Retailers are also experimenting with the use case of RFID tags in fitting rooms, providing suggestions for alternative or matching products by tracking the clothes that customers are trying on. Analysis of fitting room data, such as which products customers try on and buy (or not buy), enables retailers and their brands to identify problematic products or price points and make targeted adjustments. Together, these applications promote efficient and low-cost store operations, allowing employees to free up more time to focus on customer service.
More can be done
Although the application of RFID technology in the apparel industry has achieved remarkable results, existing RFID tags still have some shortcomings. Currently, most RFID tags are either hang tags on clothing or labels on packaging, which are quickly removed and discarded by consumers. Even when they are integrated into maintenance tags or another fabric tag, it means being cut off and discarded. This is actually a missed opportunity to gain additional benefits from the technology.
Take product returns as an example. Especially during the return process of online orders, tags or packaging are often lost, discarded or do not match the goods, which brings great difficulties to the return processing. RFID tags permanently integrated into clothing can simplify the product return process and immediately verify the exact SKU, origin and purchase price of the goods, so as to achieve fast and accurate restocking. At the same time, retailers can also rely on RFID tags to provide strong confirmation of product authenticity and verify whether there is return fraud.
In addition, RFID tags also play an important role in recycling systems. With the increasing attention to sustainable development, recycling systems are gradually becoming an important part of the apparel industry. However, traditional recycling methods often require manual identification of QR codes or barcodes on each piece of clothing and individual scanning, which is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also prone to errors. RFID tags can quickly read in groups in a scalable manner, sort items at high speed, and automatically send them to the appropriate recycling stream, thereby greatly improving recycling efficiency.
However, in order to play a role in the recycling stage and other stages of the clothing life cycle (such as product manufacturing and supply chain management), RFID tags need to be more rugged and durable. In particular, these tags need to be able to withstand repeated washing cycles and maintain their functionality and performance. The typical standard for clothing is to last through 50 consumer wash and dry cycles, sometimes even more. However, existing standard fabric RFID tags often fail to withstand such a test. They are not sufficiently waterproof and cannot withstand the pressure and stress of repeated exposure in washing machines and dryers.
Therefore, the industry urgently needs a new type of washable RFID tag. This tag needs to have the characteristics of high performance, high quality and low cost at the same time, and also needs to provide a higher level of robustness and waterproofness, and of course, the single profit will be higher. Whether in the clothing manufacturing process, or through the supply chain, after-sales service to achieve efficient returns or ultimately achieve a scalable circular economy, this new type of washable RFID tag will become an important force to promote the further development of the clothing industry.
With the continuous advancement of RFID technology and the gradual reduction of costs, RFID technology will play an increasingly important role in the clothing industry. It is believed that a new type of washable RFID tag with high cost performance will soon appear, which will not only provide consumers with a more convenient and efficient shopping experience, but also create greater commercial value for retailers and manufacturers.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
