Retailer ISA uses RFID, social media and cameras to track consumer behavior
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ISA fashion boutique international company (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau area international luxury brand sellers) is using the RFID inventory management system provided by Hong Kong IT service company PCCW. Using this system, retailers can track product locations, attract consumers, understand their preferences and reduce labor costs spent on inventory. The program is called Infinitum Retail and uses IP cameras and UHF RFID readers. As the system improves inventory management, the retailer will deploy this system in 11 stores this year. Alpha was responsible for installing this solution.
PCCW Digital Experience Leader Jacky Ting explained that in the past, because RFID technology could only track items marked by tags, but could not bind them to specific consumers, RFID technology had some limitations. For its part, stores cannot use RFID technology to send product information and promotional activities to consumers. However, by linking RFID data with closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera images and social media sites, retailers can identify where the most consumers are in the store (using camera heat maps) and understand consumers’ reactions to products (through tracking Emoticons) and track consumer comments on the product on social media (with permission).
(After the reader built into the EAS gate of the ISA store reads the D number of the consumer’s RFID score card, the Infinitum software will send promotional information (based on previous shopping behavior) to the consumer’s mobile phone.)
PCCW senior VP Wing Lee said that Infinitum Retail aims to overcome a series of difficulties faced by stores (such as: understanding what consumers are interested in what products, and then using coupons to purchase). ISA boutiques use camera images to track the location of consumers in the store. In the future, avatar analysis technology will be used to identify consumers’ age, race, gender, and facial expressions when facing products.
In 2012, ISA installed an RFID system for inventory counting and product location tracking in a store. The system is still in use. The company attaches micro RFID tags to jewelry and installs RFID readers on display cabinets to track the time when the products are displayed in the cabinet and removed. Since Infinitum Retail was used in October 2015, the retail store has started to use this system to track all products in three stores in Hong Kong, one warehouse and one store in mainland China.
In the Infinitum Retail solution, an RFID reader is built into the EAD gate at the entrance, and an RFID reader named iR-Furniture is installed on the display cabinet to read tags in real time. The system also installs a reader at the checkout counter. In the warehouse, the reader is used to identify the time when goods are received and when they are sent out.
In the warehouse, all commodities other than jewelry are attached with EAS hard tags embedded in EPC Gen2 UHF RFID. After the warehouse reads these tags, the software running on the cloud server will automatically update the status, such as the time information of item receipt and dispatch.
After the items are delivered to the store, some items will be placed on iR-Furniture shelves, and the status of the items will be tracked in real time. Jewelry products are placed in the jewelry tracking cabinet for tracking. In iR-Furniture, the reader will continue to read the tag until it is removed.
In addition, after the business is closed every day, employees can log in to the software to confirm whether all items are in the iR-Furniture shelf.
After entering the store, the reader can identify the consumer with the RFID loyalty card. Then, they can receive promotional information and product information in related locations through their smartphones.
The reader built into the EAS gate can read the ID number of the loyalty card and forward this information to the software, so that the purchase behavior of consumers can be identified based on the coupon redemption history and purchase history. In this way, the software will send promotional information and related product information to consumers based on previous purchases.
When the consumer brings the tag to the checkout counter, the desktop RFID reader will read the RFID tag of the item, bind the ID number and the product SKU to each other and remove it from the inventory list. Then, the staff removes the hard tag from the item. In this way, consumers can leave the store with the merchandise, and the EAS gate will not issue a warning. Stores can also use these data for timely replenishment.
Stores still need CCTV cameras to identify consumers who enter the store and where they spend the most time. The software can then compare sales data to understand the products that attract customers the most.
Since consumers often make purchase decisions by querying their mobile phones, the store also wants to know the online reviews of the products. Therefore, before consumers log in to the store’s WiFi network, they need to log in to the social network first, so that the retailer can view the consumer’s evaluation of the product.
Infinitum Retail allows ISA boutiques to better understand consumer demographics and consumption behaviors. Retailers can use these data analysis to design more effective marketing activities.
Lee said that ISA said the use of Infinitum Retail can help increase sales and reduce labor costs.
At the same time, Infinitum Retail also has a facial analysis component, but ISA does not use this feature. Using this system, the software’s built-in algorithm will process the facial avatar captured by the CCTV camera to identify information such as age, gender, skin color, and facial expressions. Lee said: “Facial analysis data will help retailers analyze the products that consumers are interested in and determine their level of interest.”
In addition, stores can use IR-Furniture to read data and facial analysis data to determine which products consumers are viewing.
Ting said: “In the era of the Internet of Things, our focus should be on the analysis of consumer behavior and demand. Consumer behavior and demand analysis will help retailers win market share.”
(Exclusive manuscript of rfid world network, please indicate the source author for reprinting!)
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