Hong Kong Shoppers Use RFID-enabled Mirror to See What They Want

A customer who wishes to try on a specific item can press a prompt button on an intercom to communicate with sales staff from inside the dressing room. The request is received at the sales counter, where the intercom connects to a PC. An employee can then ascertain which dressing room the request is coming from and view the image the customer sees on the screen, to determine the exact item being requested.

According to Matthew Man, Schmidt's general manager, the RFID system has increased sales by making more choices available to shoppers as they try on items. Customers often enter the fitting room holding only a single item of clothing, he says, but end up requesting additional items to try on along with that garment, based on options provided via the LCD screen.

To learn more about a particular piece of clothing, a shopper presents it to the reader, which captures its RFID tag number. The PC then displays brand information, a garment description, fabric information and pricing on the LCD.

The system collects data as to which items have been tried on and which have been sold, enabling Mi-Tu to analyze the success of the products sold in its stores.

Mi-Tu has installed e-catalogues within the store area, which include an RFID interrogator, a PC and an LCD screen. To learn more about a particular piece of clothing, a shopper presents that garment to the reader, which captures its RFID tag number. The PC displays brand information, a garment description, fabric information and pricing on the LCD, and the e-catalogue alerts the shopper if other sizes or colors are available, as well as the specific area of the store in which they are located.

Matthew Man

In addition, the RFID tags are designed to help deter shoplifting. All tags are removed at the point of sale for reuse on other items, so if a customer attempts to take an unpurchased item garment outside the store, a reader at the door captures its tag ID number and sends an alert to the sales desk.

With the upcoming third store installation, Mi-Tu plans to implement a VIP system. Participating customers will receive RFID-enabled VIP cards, embedded with Gen 2 RFID chips encoded with customers' unique ID numbers. When a card-carrying customer enters the store, the reader captures her ID number and sends it to the back-end system, where it is associated with that person's purchasing history.