Macy’s stores hav announced that it would like to include RFID technology, the radio-wave based system that is said to be the future of checkout line-less shopping, in its stores’ operations, Forbes reported today. Don’t get too excited though – Macy’s will use RFID to keep track of replenishment goods and take inventory. Not exactly as thrilling a prospect as dumping a couple of shirts into your bag and strolling out the door. Still, this is a significant advent of RFID capabilities.

Macy’s, which owns 850 stores of the same name as well as 4 Bloomingdale’s outlet stores, hopes to utilize the technology to ensure they “have the right product at the right time,” in the words of Chief Administrative Officer Tom Cole. By keeping track of replenishment goods, defined as products that are replaced as soon as they leave the shelves, Macy’s can run a more efficient operation. Replenishment goods comprise 30% of Macy’s total sales and range from denim of all sorts to women’s footwear.

The department store chain will also take advantage of the technology to take periodic, instantaneous inventory of their products as an alternative to the annual, manual model they have traditionally utilized.

RFID is one of the most promising up-and-coming advances of today. It has already been widely adopted by numerous wireless communicators in the form of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology (think Google Wallet). You can be sure that other organizations will follow Macy’s shrewd example and make the decision to incorporate RFID with their own technologies.

I, for one, cannot wait to eschew those long lines staring at the candies at the supermarket.

The idea of using RFID to store medical records has been around for a few years already. But so far, no device existed to appropriately store and deliver medical data about a person in a secure way and the application of such technology proved to be very costly and largely refuted. Japan based chemical and tech company Asahi Kasei is about to produce a small RFID device that may change this situation.

The company has developed a small storage device that acts as a healthcare suitcase in which all the user’s medical history is saved – emergency contacts, blood type, previous health issues… The device would not be able to store larger files like X-rays, but it would provide the medical examiner with a link to the file and the ability to visualize it from a separate secure server. The device uses a smart card technology called FeliCa that is already present in most phones and laptops. As it is already largely adopted by all main carriers and tech manufacturers like Sony, in Japan, it is a cheaper alternative than building out a proprietary system.

As such, in an emergency situation, doctors or any medical personnel would only need to approach FeliCa equipped equipment from the RFID device to access the user’s healthcare data. It would save precious seconds or even minutes on the time spent identifying the victim, delivering a diagnostic, contacting relatives and family members or making life-saving decisions.

The device is the size of an amulet (3 x 3 cm only or 1.2 x 1.2  inches) but may eventually save many peoples life by making it much easier for medical personnel to understand the situation when they first meet the patient. The device is expected to be made available on the Japanese market for as little as ¥ 2,000 ($25).

Long lines at the shopping malls are one of the biggest complaints about the shopping experience. Soon, these long lines could disappear altogether when the Universal Product Code (UPC) is replaced by smart labels, also known as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. These tags are intelligent barcodes that can connect to radio frequencies and the air. Thus, once you put the item in your shopping cart, consider it bought. No lines. No wait. No Hassle.

Mercedes is likely the only automaker in the US to experiment with computer-less and smartphone-less Facebook checkins via RFID. Mercedes has set up 10 kiosks at the 2011 PGA Championship in Atlanta. Some 25,000 attendees have also been given VIP passes with RFID chips embedded in them. These attendees can register in under a minute to use these passes to check in at the kiosks. Once they have registered their RFID VIP passes they can use the passes to “Like” any of the Mercedes cars at the event. Additionally, they can take pictures at the kiosks (which have built-in cameras) and check in via Facebook Places.

Facebook checkins via RFID tags is a fairly new idea, especially in the US. A pioneer of the technique was Coca-Cola, which ran a program it its amusement park in Israel last summer, who let its park-goers check in and “Like” various attractions via RFID wristbands.

RFID tags don’t just belong in the distant future. With advances in technology, don’t be surprised to see the tags used widely within the next 5 to 10 years. Not only will these RFID tags be available to “Like” something on Facebook, but they will also be useful for a wide array of things.

The tech industry has long been dreaming of the day when RFID would become the new standard system for businesses everywhere. It’s safe to say that day is finally here. Major companies have come to recognize the limitless potential that comes with fully utilizing RFID technology. Today’s major corporations are all about efficiency, thus making this kind of technology invaluable to those who choose to use it.

The fact that companies can use one piece of technology to perform multiple tasks is much appreciated, especially in our current world which has no interest in slowing down. The retail industry was the first to show real interest in RFID tagging when Wal-Mart announced that it would be using these tags on clothing. The RFID tags keep track of whether clothing leaves the store unpaid for and overall helps manage inventory. Even the shipment of products to and from distributors can be tracked. This method of tagging is also priceless for jewelry and diamond retailers who absolutely need to keep a precise eye on inventory. RFID is definitely improving the way retailers handle the major issue of loss prevention.

Because of Wal-Mart’s large presence on the market, other companies have follows suit by implementing RFID technology. It is simple to see that tagging saves money, time, and certainly improves efficiency. Companies have been using RFID technology in a variety of ways because the fact is, tagging really can be used for a multitude of applications. Paramount Farms, a large supplier of pistachios, has used tagging to manage its harvest in a better manner while Starwood Hotels and Resorts has created a sleek system using RFID enabled member cards that allow guests to check-in automatically and access their rooms. The technology has also been utilized in the medical world making it easier for doctors to access information about and treat patients who require special care. RFID technology has also been used to manage the traffic flow of cargo at Hong Kong International Airport.

RFID technology is no doubt revolutionizing both our business and personal worlds. Major corporations all over the world have utilized this technology in hundreds of ways to simplify the way things are done while preserving time and funds. The possibilities are endless with RFID tagging and it is changing the way people live in the simplest yet most extraordinary ways. Soon enough, we won’t have to wait in lines at the supermarket or in hotel lobbies, waiting ages to check-in and out and offices can shred the contents of their file cabinets. This breakthrough in technology is here to stay and its future will only open new doors for companies and our global society.

NEW YORK – February 07, 2011 -
RFID Item-Level Tagging (ILT) is being deployed very rapidly in apparel and footwear markets. Item-level passive UHF tags now make up an increasing share of the total world market for RFID tags. The firm forecasts that more than three quarters of a billion RFID tags will be used in global apparel markets in 2011.

“RFID systems allow apparel retailers to get a better handle on inventory, reducing costs and preventing out of stock situations that result in loss of sales,” says ABI Research principal analyst Bill Arnold. “The growth in retail item-level tagging is huge, both in shipments and in total spending. The average growth rate is close to 60% for the next three years. In fact, the number of tags that will be used for retail ILT in apparel alone is likely to exceed the total number consumed over the past five years for all RFID markets combined.”

Major retailers such as Macy’s, JC Penney, and Wal-Mart are leading the charge to make RFID systems commonplace in the retail environment.

Typical ROI times for such RFID deployments are only three to six months, but, says Arnold, “The state of the global economy is still creating serious delays in getting money allocated to retail RFID. Executives are still very uneasy about business conditions and availability of credit, and while ILT systems are technically scalable right down to small businesses, credit will be the big limiting factor for smaller independent stores.”

A related use of RFID in retail is in EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) systems: loss prevention tags containing only one bit of data. This segment is led by Checkpoint and Tyco Retail Solutions.

Research director Michael Liard adds, “Retail adoption of RFID at the item level parallels the course barcodes took about 30 years ago. The main difference this time is that retail department stores, not grocers, are leading the charge.”

ABI Research’s new study “The Retail Apparel RFID Item-Level Tagging Market” provides current analysis and a five-year forecast of UHF adoption at the item-level in the retail apparel market. It discusses market drivers and inhibitors, along with a summary of the key RFID solution providers and product suppliers.

It is part of the firm’s RFID Research Service.