Feb 10, 2022I can remember, back in the mid-2000s, when RFID Journal's editor, Mark Roberti, would write about how frustrating it was that the mainstream press largely ignored what radio frequency identification technologies could do. Back then, media companies frequently presented RFID in a bad light, pandered to fearmongering efforts from those who distrusted RFID, and overlooked RFID Journal's expertise when writing articles about the technology's use, often resulting in factual errors in their coverage.
That has changed in the years since, however, as illustrated by an article posted this week by The Wall Street Journal. Writer Isabelle Bousquette's piece, "Macy's Aims RFID at Organized Retail Theft," covered a recent RFID Journal virtual event, RFID in Retail and Apparel 2022, during which attendees learned how retailers are using RFID to become more agile and responsive in a competitive market.
Among those who spoke at the event was Joe Coll, Macy's VP of asset protection and strategy, who (in a session with Ned McCauley, Sensormatic Retail Solutions' director of sales, IoT and smart sensors) discussed how RFID has played a key role in optimizing inventory, enabling omnichannel processes, and confronting rising theft and brand insecurity. Coll outlined how the retail giant has used a sensor-fusion approach to combat organized retail crime and protect its personnel, customers, products, profits and brand—and The Wall Street Journal was listening as he did so.
"RFID plays a huge part for us from an investigative standpoint," Coll said during the virtual event, and Bousquette quoted him in her article, noting, "Strategies combating retail theft have become especially important during a surge in organized retail crime—incidents where items are stolen in order to be resold." While RFID might not prevent largescale heists, she noted, "It does give retailers detailed information on the stock-keeping unit, size and color of stolen items that they can then pass along to law enforcement."
As Bousquette's article noted, Macy's is an early adopter that has been using RFID for years. RFID Journal, of course, has been covering the retailer's efforts since the beginning (see Macy's to Begin Item-Level Tagging in 850 Stores, Macy's Tests Shopkick's ShopBeacon at New York and San Francisco Stores, RFID a Very Big Part of Macy's Future, Macy's Expands RFID and Beacon Deployments, Macy's Launches Pick to the Last Unit Program for Omnichannel Sales, A Conversation With Macy's Bill Connell and Macy's to RFID-Tag 100 Percent of Items). But it's gratifying to see the mainstream press not only recognizing the value of RFID, but even attending RFID Journal events to learn more about it. It's a strong sign the industry is heading in the right direction.
Rich Handley has been the managing editor of RFID Journal since 2005. Outside the RFID world, Rich has authored, edited or contributed to numerous books about pop culture. You can contact Rich via email.
