University of Arkansas Study Finds RFID Can Add Value to EAS

Overall, Dunn says, while RFID measured up to EAS, one area that was not tested was the probability that a tag would make it—without being disabled or otherwise tampered with—to the detection zone at the doorway where readers were installed. Retailers need to ensure a tag can't be defeated before it reaches the detection zone, Dunn says.

He recommends the solution to that problem is burying the RFID chip in a plastic EAS tag. In that way, not only would it not be possible for a thief to access and disable it in the store, EAS offers redundancy so that either the EAS or RFID tag will be read as the customer leaves the store.

The study also included discussion about where the tags should be read. "There is a lot of talk about location. Is the exit the right location or is there a better model of protection within the store?" Dunn says. Locating the reader at the exit, he says, serves as a deterrent and guarantees that there won't be misreads of people who might be moving an item without intending to steal it. "The exit is the strongest inference of intent. They are leaving a private space and heading into a public space with the item," he says.

"Our approach at ADT is we would like to do whatever makes sense," Dunn says. "The question is, what does EAS add to RFID?" The answer, he says, is added security. He points out that while RFID offers item-level visibility that allows retailers and vendors to track out-of-stocks and store performance, EAS provides a security coverage that is already deployed at a majority of retail locations.

"I think one of the things we're trying to ask in apparel is what is the appetite for RFID item-level tagging. Is there a business case?" If there, is, Dunn says, the use of RFID tags as an EAS would be a desirable option for retailers.

The research was sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), and the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS), a retail and consumer-goods industry organization.