FamilyMart Demonstrates RFID's Convenience to Customers

Additionally, Express POS accepts the Super Urban Intelligent Card (Suica), a rechargeable contactless electronic-cash card that commuters in Tokyo can use to pay for train fare. When a passenger uses a Suica card—which contains an embedded FeliCa 13.56 MHz passive RFID chip, developed by Sony and complying with ISO 18092—to pay for train fare, the payment is subsequently withdrawn from a prepaid balance on the card. The FamilyMart trial enabled Suica cardholders to use the same card to pay for their items as well. After passing purchases over the Express POS reader, Kean explains, a customer passes the card by the interrogator to complete the transaction. According to Keane, Suica payments are completed in about one second.

Phase 2 started in January 2007 and finished at the end of February 2007. During this second phase, RFID tags were not only applied to individual items to speed up sales transactions but also used to track product shipments throughout the supply chain. Pallets of goods were tagged with EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID tags, and the item tags' ID numbers were linked with those of the pallet tags. A variety of tag types were tested during this phase.

The pallet tags were read at multiple points along the supply chain, Keane states, from the factory to the store. "The results of this test are still being evaluated by the different parties," he notes, "and subject to the final results, a decision will be made if and when Phase 3 should start." The nature of Phase 3's testing has not yet been determined. "We are currently awaiting an official report from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, that will be merged with our data."

"Phase 1 was extremely well received and served as a catalyst to continue and expand the project," Keane says, adding that an official report from FamilyMart indicates customers experienced a more comfortable checkout process during the pilot. What's more, the report reveals, an increased amount of goods were sold, and goods arriving at the stores were received more effectively.

During the pilot, the two FamilyMart stores succeeded in processing 128 customers in 30 minutes, whereas prior to the pilot, they processed 58 customers every 30 minutes. In 2006, FamilyMart interviewed 75 customers about the use of Express POS, and three-quarters said they considered the checkout experience "speedy." All respondents replied they would use the system again.