Wireless Tech Chat

We’ve heard for a while now that RFID technology is finding its niche in supply chain management and inventory control applications by many companies, especially those in the retail sector.

We’ve also heard for a while now how critics of RFID technology believe that companies will abuse it and do everything possible to get personal information from their customers and clients so they can bombard them with endless marketing messages to get them to buy their goods and services.

It’s a fine line that adopters of RFID have to walk to convince others that they will not misuse it and invade other peoples’ privacy in order to gain a competitive edge, but it’s as much a selling job as anything else.

With that in mind, Best Buy’s CIO Bob Willet said this week that the retail industry has to do a better job to explain to consumers that retailers will not exploit their personal information, and must show how RFID can be used to improve a customer’s shopping experience. Examples include making it easier to find items in a store, and speeding up the checkout process.

In fact, Willet said he hopes to see RFID eventually eliminate checkout lines, but it remains to be seen how this can be done. Most likely it would entail more consumers having RFID-enabled smartphones they can swipe at various locations throughout a store to pay for items.

This is the type of informational “sales pitch” that companies, especially retailers, have to do in order to “sell” the use of RFID technology in their consumer-targeted operations. There still will be privacy concerns, but if examples like the ones mentioned above can be demonstrated to customers, some of those same fears may lessen considerably.

[Via PC World]