November 30 2020
Retailers are adopting RFID technology in large numbers to ensure instant product availability by raising their inventory accuracy to over 98%. Most retailers adopt RFID for both inventory and supply chain management visibility, which is based on source tagging all their products with RFID labels. RFID adoption also creates an opportunity to optimize other store processes such as data-driven loss prevention, faster checkouts and combating various types of fraud at the point of sale.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 benefits of using RFID at the Point of Sale.
1. Increase speed of checkout
One of the biggest challenges for retailers is to match the online and offline customer experience. A major benefit of online shopping is that you do not have to wait in line at the checkout. So, increasing the speed of the in-store checkout process is a large driver of customer satisfaction. RFID solution adoption not only speeds up the in-store check-out but gives store staff more time to focus on the customer in the store or process online orders and pick-ups. Using RFID at the checkout can speed up the transaction time by at least 20%, and up to 75% if no security hard tags are used.
2. Self-checkouts made easy
Similar to the process described above for employee assisted checkouts, RFID-secured self-checkouts also take less time than their traditional RF (Radio Frequency) or AM (Acoustic Magnetic)-secured counterparts. In addition, RFID-enabled self-checkouts provide unparalleled convenience, as customers can simply put their basket in the self-checkout station. Items are individually recognized within seconds, reducing checkout time by more than half, and also reducing the risk of customers forgetting to scan items.
3. Securing mobile self-scan checkouts
Traditional EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) systems do not allow for the implementation of mobile payment solutions while securing products at the same time. In contrast, a cloud-based RFID platform makes it possible to secure products when using mobile self-scan checkout solutions, as it automatically recognizes sold and unsold items at the exit. Once payment is completed, loss prevention systems will no longer alert at the exit.
4. Eliminate return fraud
Return fraud is a type of shoplifting that occurs when a customer tries to return a stolen or worn item to the store and receive money in return. With the use of RFID, this type of fraud is no longer possible because employees can instantly detect if a specific item being returned was ever previously purchased and if it was purchased in-store or online.
5. Sweethearting, the dark side of customer service
Sweethearting is a form of internal fraud that happens when store staff give unauthorized free or discounted items to acquaintances, friends, or conspirators. An example of this is when an acquaintance of a store employee wants to checkout two sweaters while the store employee only scans one sweater while removing the security tags of both sweaters. RFID solutions can easily prevent such theft because security deactivation happens automatically during the payment process. Thus, it is impossible for store staff to manually remove the security of a product.
RFID at the Point-Of-Sale
In our fourth webinar in our weekly webinar series, we will discuss one of the most relevant read points: the check-out or point-of-sale (POS). RFID at the POS unlocks many additional......
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Product Manager
Daniël Doorman
