quency Identification in the Re

Introduction
The Retail industry is interested in implementing the use of RadioFrequency Identification as an item-level- tagging tool in hopes of eventually
replacing the barcode as a means of tracking. RFID is already being used in
the supply chain management industry which is where RFID tags are used on
pallets to track product shipments. The use of RFID item-level-tagging will
allow for the retail industry to track consumer shopping behaviors, credit
card numbers and purchase history. According to William Atkinson, the
author of Tagged The Risks and Rewards of RFID Technology, published in
Risk Management Magazine, The use of unique ID numbers could lead to
the creation of a global item registration system in which every physical
object is identified and linked to its owner at the point of sale (16). The
controversy behind the use of RFID is the systems capability to monitor
consumers, invade their privacy and potentially exploit customer information
in order to be sold to data miners or for marketing purposes. This research
paper will specifically analyze the use of RFID in conjunction with the retail
industry. Retailers would like to benefit from RFID by reducing costs, using it
in the field of loss prevention, reducing lost profits in inventory stock outs,
and to collect various data points from sales. Whereas privacy advocates feel
that RFID threatens privacy and civil liberties. How is the use of Radio
Frequency Identification in the retail industry an asset to meeting consumer
needs or a violation of customer privacy? Should retailers implement RFID
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technology to monitor consumer behaviors in the retail setting? The

implementation of RFID on to an item-level-basis will enable the retailer to
access customer information as well as physical whereabouts that can be
tracked on an individual basis. Although RFID technology promises to be a
legitimate business resource for the retail industry, the introduction of this
technology on an item-level basis is proven to be and invasion of civil
liberties and a violation of consumer privacy.

Defining RFID
As Radio Frequency Identification technology becomes a more cost
efficient method of tracking, it has the potential to become a part of
everyday life. RFID can be used for a variety of tracking needs such as;
passports, transportation payments, product tracking, lap scoring, animal
identification, inventory systems, promotion tracking, human implants,
libraries, schools and universities, museums and social retailing. (Rong,
Chunming) These readers can scan hundreds of tags within seconds and can
read information from a distance as long as 300 feet, that is why it is
important to educate consumers about this advancing technology. (Rong,
Chunming) RFID is the use of radio frequency in a tag attached to an object
where the tag emits a signal that is then picked up by a frequency reader.
Adriana Alexandru, Ph. D. in Applied Informatics, explains that RFID is a
wireless technology based on storing and retrieving data using RFID tags,
which is a prospective automatic identification method. RFID systems use
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radio frequency in order to identify, classify, and locate articles (765). The
application purpose of RFID technology is versatile which includes: asset
management, tracking, authenticity verification, matching (ensuring that
items are not being separated), process control (information for decision
making), access control, and automated payment.(Rong, Chunming)
Professor Chunming Rong head of the Center for IP-based Service Innovation
at the University of Stavanger states that because radio signals are used,
RFID tags do not require line of sight to connect with the reader and precise
positioning, as barcodes do (205).

The use of RFID in Supply Chain Management

Some experts have argued that the retailers have financial and other
legitimate business reasons to implement RFID in supply chain management.
RFID gives the supply chain management the ability to accurately monitor
inventory levels, assist in loss prevention, and eliminate labor costs. The
benefit to the consumers is that of merchandise availability and potentially
lower costs for goods. Adriana Alexandru reports that RFID has many
advantages in continuing to track inventory levels such as, providing an
automated management of the supply chain, maintenance of record
accuracy in shipments, prevents theft by having multiple check points along
the supply chain, and any data of a loss of product would allow the
manufacture to take corrective action( 768). According to John Websters

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case study in 2003 Wal-Mart required its top 100 suppliers to employ RFID
technology on their pallets and cases (34).

The use of RFID for Item-Level-Tagging

The center of the controversy surrounding RFID is implementing the
technology on an item level basis which enables retailers to monitor not only
their product but also their consumers with RFID technology. Larry Arnstein,
Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, endorses that RFID will allow buyers and
merchandisers to analyze the movement of tagged items, which will
improve merchandise selection and availability (26). For example a garment
which is being consistently tried on but not purchased would allow
merchandisers to analyze the size, fit, and style of the garment. Arnstein
emphasizes that the use of RFID used in conjunction with loss prevention
would enable retailers to develop a case, prosecute, and recover the goods
(26). While current technology such as EAS tags offers theft deterrence,
RFID gives retailers the advantage to be able to track individual items so that
if theft occurs it will not result in an out-of-stock for the next customer.
Implementing RFID in the retail industry will reduce the labor costs and
because of the fully automated systems there will be a decreased need for
labor in general.

Privacy Advocates against RFID

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Privacy advocates encourage the public to examine the precautions of

RFID. William Atkinson makes the argument that an even greater concern is
that should RFID tags become truly ubiquitousembedded in virtually all
customer productsthey could be used not only to track consumer shopping
habits, but also to track the consumers themselves.(16). Atkinson believes
that use of RFID technology can be easily manipulated to benefit retailer
needs for exploiting customer information. There are 5 potential threats to
privacy and civil liberties from a large scale of RFID deployment: hidden
placement tags, unique identifiers for all objects, massive data aggregation,
hidden readers, individual tracking and profiling (Radio Frequency
Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary). This quote is an
example of the reason privacy advocates hold their disposition towards RFID
being implemented at an item-level-tagging.

Laws Implementing the Standard Use of RFID

Current laws do little to protect consumer privacy or restrict the use
RFID technology. According to a periodical, Free Speech vs. Privacy in Data
Mining, by George Pike, the director of the Barco Law Library and assistant
professor of law at the University Of Pittsburg School Of Law,
Privacy can be a very provocative right. Actually, it is barely a
right. There is no explicit right of privacy guaranteed by the
Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The privacy rights we have were
teased out of the Constitution by a variety of provisions that
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collectively suggest that privacy should be protected. These include

the Fourth Amendments right against unreasonable searches, The
Fifth Amendments right to remain silent, and even the rarely
mentioned Third Amendments right to not have soldiers quartered in
your home. (22)
Pike refutes the use of data collection for marketing purposes because of the
lack of prescription confidentially. In his periodical he uses the example of
how pharmacies sell their clients prescription information to data miners and
pharmaceutical companies which is then used for marketing purposes
without the permission of the physician. The courts were unable to restrict
the flow of this information due to the First Amendment right: restricting the
availability of this information would be considered a violation of free speech
(22). RFID technologies could be potentially exploited in the same way by
allowing the retail industry to place unique identification tags on item-levelstock, which would potentially enable information to be bought and sold for
multiple purposes such as data mining, surveillance, and market profiling by
companies.

RFID Kill switches

RFID will enable consumers to check out their purchases simply by
walking their carts though a reading mechanism. This will provide timely
check out procedures for consumers. According to Stewart Fists periodical
Data mining as you shop,
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Supermarkets dream of being able to read, price and bill all

items in your supermarket cart without needing check out staff and
barcode readers. In the supermarket of the future, they believe youll
just load up your cart and wheel it out of the store. The stores radio
readers will add up all items, strip your identity from your loyalty card,
issue a confirmation printout, and then communicate with the bank to
bill your account direct(25)
On one hand, RFID gives the retail industry a powerful tool to carry out
normal retail activities in a timely and efficient manner. On the other hand,
this technology is not easily deactivated which causes concern for
consumers. According to Stewart Fist it is currently impossible to deactivate
a tag without handling each item and in some cases privacy advocates
found that deactivation kiosks only left the tag partially disabled (25). RFID
has the potential to add convenience to the current check-out procedure but
the process of deactivating the tags would contradict the use of the tags.
Bruce Eckfeldt, a technology architect, points out that having the ability to
deactivate the RFID tags or employing the use of kill tags and other risk
prevention technologies

do little to lessen the perceived customer risk

(79).

Evaluating RFID
Many experts in the informatics and computer engineer field agree that
RFID will enhance market opportunities for the retail industry. Their purpose
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is to endorse that the use of RFID will enhance merchandise management,

inventory control, and customer services. Experts are exploring the potential
use of RFID tags in the loss prevention field and support the idea that RFID
will reduce merchandise theft. If a garment is not being sold they will be able
to examine the style and mark it down to be sold. The research from
academic journals attest that deployment will reduce prices for customers
such as in Pankaj Madhanis RFID Deployment: Fast Fashion Retailing, RFID
helps in providing affordability to customers as dynamic pricing will reduce
costly inventory write off and in the long term, this will also lead to a
decrease in pricing for the consumer(43). Retailers who have RFID are able
to provide product attributes as well as the assurance that the product will
be more able to meet their customers needs. Based on my research the
retailers will benefit enormously by using RFID technology in item-leveltagging of merchandise. The purpose of RFID is to better customer services
by reducing the possibilities of out-of stock merchandise. The use of
scholarly and popular sources helps to support the retailers benefits such as:
Adriana Alexandru, Ph. D. in Applied Informatics, John Webster, and Larry
Arnstein, Ph.D. in Computer Engineering. Their views are associated with the
critical evaluation and research of this advancing technology.

Privacy Advocates Evaluation

From the perspective of privacy advocates, such as in a case study
done by Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary,

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RIFD tags can be used as a tool to exploit consumer civil liberties and are a
violation of privacy. Privacy advocates argue that the tags ability to track and
monitor consumers and sales of the merchandise will be used to mine
information. In the controversy of implementing the use of RFID technology
into the retail industry, the concerns of privacy advocates are that of
violation of consumer privacy, whereas retailers seek to use this technology
to develop supply chain management, loss prevention, and sales analysis. In
evaluation of privacy advocates views popular sources use wording to create
a fear of this technology. In the scholarly writing the subject of privacy is
addressed as an obstacle to integrating the technology on an item-levelbasis. During my research I found many fear mongering articles with extreme
conversations about RFID being embedded in your underwear. I choose not
to support my research with propaganda. According to thefreedictionary.com
the definition of privacy is the quality or condition of being secluded from
the presence or view of others. Or the state of being free from unsanctioned
intrusion: a person's right to privacy. The request for privacy to be protected
from unreasonable technology intrusion is reasonable from a consumer
standpoint.

Persuasive argument against RFID

Although RFID technology promises to be a legitimate business resource
for the retail industry, the introduction of this technology on an item-level
basis is proven to be and invasion of civil liberties and a violation of
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consumer privacy. The benefits of RFID include a reduction in cost and

availability of merchandise, these benefits do not merit the control over the
massive amount of people that will be affected by RFID technology.
The advancement in technology should not continue to reduce the
consumers right to privacy. The retail industry is a large provider of jobs and
the loss in labor costs will also mean a significant drop in employment for
many regions around the world. Even though RFID technology is enticing in
regards to improving time efficiency of the check-out process, deactivating
the tags would be just as time-consuming as the current check-out
procedure. If implemented for use in item-level-stock retailers will be able to
track merchandise, the customers purchase history and credit card
information without governing standards. The lack of standards in regards
to RFID deployment would mean retailers could collect information and use it
for whatever purpose they see fit.
Neal Postmans speech Informing Ourselves to Death proves the use
of technology and the effects of mass information distribution can transform
the dynamics of a culture. As history tends to repeat itself, developing and
restricting technology which has the capability to transform our culture, will
be the best intention for the use of RFID technology. This technology appears
to be a legitimate business resource for the retail industry, while the
introduction of this technology could prove to challenge our cultural limits.

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Conclusion
In conclusion when answering the question of how is the use of Radio
Frequency Identification in the retail industry an asset to meeting consumer
needs or a violation of customer privacy? Protecting privacy rights becomes
more important to preserving our culture. When RFID technology is used on
an item-level-basis it will have monitoring capabilities that are unnecessary
for the retail industry to have. Implementing RFID in supply chain
management would be more practical in order to the track shipping of a
product. Although RFID technology promises to be a legitimate business
resource for the retail industry, the introduction of this technology on an
item-level basis is proven to be and invasion of civil liberties and a violation
of consumer privacy.

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