This presentation describes how RFID can enhance the customer shopping experience at retail stores. Created by Keonn Technologies.

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Improving the Customer Shopping Experience
with RFID

2. 2
Objectives of this document
 Share the elements that may affect the customer shopping experience in a
physical store, and may reduce sales
 Illustrate the advantages of RFID for improving the customer experience at
retail stores …
 … as well as for improving retailers’ results

3. 3
Retailers are increasingly focusing on providing customers with an
enriching shopping experience
 Customer loyalty and customer experience are key for increasing
sales at retail stores
 This requires:
 Providing customers with greater perceived value
 Responding fast to customer preferences and buying patterns
 Minimizing annoying experiences, such as stock-outs or queues
 Helping customers finding products
 ...
 As a result, retailers are adopting new technologies
 RFID
 Real time location systems (RTLS)
 Computer vision
 Augmented reality
 Interactive displays
 Interaction through smart phones
 NFC
 …

4. 4
However, in a traditional store, before entering the store, the
customer needs to pass between the loss prevention gates
These gates reduce the visibility of the shop interior from the outside, have
usually poor aesthetics and act as a subliminal barrier to entrance

5. 5
If there are many people queuing, the customer may decide to
leave the store, or lose interest in buying a product
Check outs are usually located near the entrance, and customers
entering the store immediately see if queues are long

6. 6
The customer then wanders or searches for a specific product,
which may take time, and may not find the product
Product, color, size, …

7. 7
Stock-outs may occur or items may be misplaced, which may
generate dissatisfaction in the customer
According to different market studies, stock-outs reduce sales between 2% and 4%
Sources: Daniel Corsten, Thomas Gruen, “Stock-Outs Cause Walkouts”, Harvard Business Review, May
2004, “RFID’s Impact on Out of Stocks: A Sales Velocity Analysis”, Information Technology Research Institute,
June 2006

8. 8
The infrastructure of the store is inert. It does not act as a seller
but as a mere physical support for the products
30% of Amazon sales come from recommendations to customers about other products.
However, in physical retail stores, cross-selling through recommendations is almost inexistent.

9. 9
When the customer finds the product, he/she usually tries to find
out how he/she will look like
The customer may also require additional information on a
product, but no way of obtaining it (unattended customers)

10. 10
After entering into a fitting room, the customer may want another
size or color, and may decide to abandon the buying process
67% of customers who try on items buy them.
Only 10% of customers make a purchase that they haven’t tried on
Source: Laurel Tielis, Retail Reporter

11. 11
Finally, if the customer has decided to buy, but the queue is too long,
it may generate dissatisfaction, or worse, leave without buying

12. 12
The shopping experience at retail stores will become personalized
and contextualized, and RFID will be a major driver of this change
Shoppers
Products
Physical spaces (stores)
Virtual space (e-commerce)
Retail
platform
Music
Video content
Scents
Videocameras
RFID systems
Near Field
Communication (NFC)
People identifier
Real Time Location
Systems
Augmented reality
Retailer’s ERP
Loudspeakers
Screens
Scent dispensers
Lighting
Smart phones
On-line shopping
PDAs for employees
Payment
Robots
Administration
Decision support
systems

13. 13
With RFID, the store access is clear from obstacles, since loss
prevention antennas are hanging or embedded in a carpet
Traditional EAS RFID-based EAS system
Overhead RFID EAS
system
RFID floor mat
Also, information can be recorded about stolen products,
readjusting the inventory information to avoid stock-outs

14. 14
Queues are minimized, since several items are read and
“disalarmed” simultaneously
 Payment is much faster than with bar codes
 Several products can be identified simultaneously and without direct line of sight
 At the same time, the products’ alarm is disabled
 Customer may return a defective product:
 Without having to bring the ticket
 Without having to prove that the product is still under warranty
 To any store, even if it is not the store where the product was sold
 The improvement in the customer experience leads to more customer visits
and higher sales
 Payment queues are reduced, which avoids that customers leave when they
see long payment queues
Benefits for retailers
Improvement in
the customer
experience
Revenue
increase

15. 15
Retailers can obtain real time inventory by using overhead RFID
systems and/or smart shelves
Overhead
antennas
Smart
shelves
Handheld
reader
Inventory
frequency
Inventory
precision
Product
location
Interaction with
customers
Every few
days
High
Real time High – Very high
Real time Very high
High location
accuracy

 



RFID Robot
Every day High 

16. 16
With an overhead real time inventory system, customers and
employees can quickly locate the product they are looking for
The overhead antennas identify in real time
the products located under their coverage
area
Overhead antennas are placed above the
false ceiling, or hanging from the ceiling, in
specific areas of the store
Customers and employees can easily and
quickly locate any product
Real time inventory allows recommending products to customers,
knowing that these products are in the store at that instant

17. 17
Smart shelves provide real time inventory and real time location
information
Benefits for
shoppers
 Faster location of products
 Minimization of out-of-stocks
 Recommendations

18. 18
Customers can also find products very fast with smart shelves,
either by introducing or selecting a product …
The customer searches for a
product through a touch screen
1
The smart shelf
detects where the
item is located
2
The screen shows the location
of the product, ...
... and suggests similar or
complementary products for
cross-selling
3
Customers can also obtain rich information about
products, and receive recommendations (cross-selling)

19. 19
… or by browsing through shelves with filtering conditions
(synthetic vision)
 The user/shopper browses
the shelves with the mouse
 The products located where the mouse
is pointing are shown
 These products are really placed on
that shelf location at that same instant
(real-time inventory and location)
1
2
http://youtu.be/ILLI8QFc9yIWatch video:
Customers can select a set of products and browse them through shelves., e.g.:
• Trousers of a specific size
• Romantic novels whose price is below 15 €
• Food apt for celiac
• …

20. 20
By means of real-time inventory and location, stock outs and
misplaced items can be detected and resolved

21. 21
Interactive shelves detect when customers pick a product, and
show information and/or images of the product in a nearby screen
http://youtu.be/BQLN1KpqNtcWatch video:
This increases the purchase ratio and generates cross-selling

22. 22
The customer selects
some products
The customer leaves the products on a
RFID-enabled display or shelf fixture
The products are automatically
identified
The customer sees himself/herself on a
screen beside the shelf with the products on
If the customer moves, the clothes move with
him/her
Customers may “feel” how an item suits them through an
advanced mirror, increasing sales
1
2
3
The customer can select another of the
products left on the shelf fixture, and
repeat step 3
Products can overlap
4
The customer can share a
picture with his/her friends
5
http://youtu.be/81pxFBli6NsWatch video:

23. 23
When in a fitting room, customers can easily ask for other sizes
and colors without leaving the fitting room
Interactive fitting rooms increase sales, and also deter theft
Overhead antennas above the ceiling
Touchpad screen
The employee receives the customer request
of another size or colour in a tablet PC, and
takes the product to the fitting room

24. 24
After choosing products, the customer pays at the POS much
faster and with shorter queues

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