Why RAIN RFID Is the Linchpin for Retail Digital Transformation

There’s a digital transformation underway that retailers can’t ignore.??

Shoppers expect to be able to order online, even from mom-and-pop stores. They expect their purchases to be shipped quickly — to their front door or for pickup in-store. If they do shop in-person, they expect fully stocked shelves, easy self-checkout, and seamless returns.??

Retailers can only meet these increasing demands if they have complete, real-time visibility into their inventory and operations. If they don’t adapt, they’ll be left behind. In this post-pandemic world, top retailers know that to stay ahead of the competition and to simply survive, they must digitally transform.??

And it all starts with RAIN RFID.??

That’s the big takeaway from the 2023 benchmark report from RSR Research (Retail Systems Research) , “The Digital Transformation of the Retail Business Model.” Retailers ranked RFID as the #1 technology for providing real-time insights and powering their digital transformation.??

“Their most logical starting place is the most logical starting place: RFID systems to provide real-time insights,” RSR’s Brian Kilcourse and Steve Rowen wrote in their report. “Insight not only into the products they sell and how those products move throughout the supply chain (and when applicable, throughout the store), but also into how their operations and personnel could be used to better effect. They see RFID as the linchpin.”??

Real-time visibility powered by RAIN RFID??

Top retailers are already enjoying the benefits of real-time visibility enabled by RAIN RFID solutions. Amazon recently turned to RFID to broaden its popular Just Walk Out experience at select stores. It’s why Walmart mandated that its suppliers for many major categories must tag their products with RFID. It helped Nike accelerate its digital transformation through the COVID-19 pandemic and emerge a step ahead. It’s what makes the high-tech shopping experience at Uniqlo such a magnet for customers.??

In addition to elevating in-store shopping experiences, RAIN RFID solutions integrate with existing enterprise software to provide data-driven insights, including real-time alerts to changing conditions. This level of visibility is a whole new way to do business, which is why retailers know RFID is no longer a nice-to-have technology or even a must-have technology — it’s a needed-it-yesterday technology.?

To think big, retailers must think small??

Very small. Next-generation RAIN RFID tag chips from Impinj are smaller than a grain of sand. These tiny chips are attached to small antennas to make RAIN RFID tags, which can be incorporated into labels, embedded in hangtags, or even sewn into textiles. Each battery-free tag carries a unique identifier that can be read by RAIN RFID readers in a factory, distribution center, store backroom, point of sale — anywhere along a product’s journey.??

This can all be done blisteringly fast, giving retailers real-time visibility into where and how their products are moving. This “tech wizardry,” as RSR puts it, is becoming the new normal. A full 77% of top retailers, according to RSR, strongly agreed that the inventory visibility and operational improvements that RFID enables can trigger huge savings. Yet digital transformation is about more than short-term ROI —?it’s about building a foundation for the future of a business.???

RAIN RFID provides resiliency and agility??

RAIN RFID helped retailers weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, those that have already adopted it are pulling ahead of the competition. With real-time visibility into their operations, they have the flexibility and agility to respond to changing customer demands and economic forces. They have the insights they need to streamline operations and keep things as efficient as possible. And they’re better prepared for the unknown.??

Check out the recent blog post by Ashley Burkle , retail business development director at Impinj, for more insights about the Retail Systems Research 2023 benchmark report. Download your complimentary copy of the report to learn how retailers are turning to RFID as the foundation of their digital transformation.?