AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Consumer Perspective of RFID in Apparel Retail

Sanchit Tiwari

VICS/AAFA RFID EPC Committee MeetingJanuary 16th, 2007

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

RFID and the Consumer

• Consumer interaction with RFID at the retail level

• For higher acceptance, businesses need to:

– maximize consumer benefits

– minimize consumer risks (price, privacy etc)

– Increase observability and awareness of the

technology amongst consumers

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Current State of RFID: The Chasm

Technology Adoption Life Cycle (Moore 1991)

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Consumer Benefits of RFID

• Garment tracking within a store

• Real-time replenishment prevents stock outs

• Faster self-checkout due to multiple item scanning

• RFID loyalty cards for customer specific shopping

reminders and promotions

• Magic mirrors and RFID closets for detailed information

about the garment

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Consumer Risks/Issues

• RFID tags can used as tracking devices

• Shopping information stored on RFID enabled loyalty

cards invade privacy

• RFID infrastructure and tags lead to increased item

price

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Research Question

Can consumer knowledge of RFID technology

and applications increase the overall

acceptance of the technology?

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Risk

Relative Advantage

SimplicityTrialability

Observability Compatibility

Theory of Innovation Diffusion (Rogers, 1995)

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Research Methods

• Case studies

• Online survey

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Case Studies

• Development of case studies on RFID initiatives

in apparel retail

– Marks & Spencer

– Prada

– Benetton

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Online Survey

• Online survey of a random, representative sample of

men and women across the US (n = 150)– Sample purchased from a Connecticut-based sampling firm

• Experiment design

Pre-test Treatment (information) Post-test

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Expected Results

• Consumer perceptions of RFID benefits and issues

• Effect of RFID on consumer shopping behavior

• Target consumer segments for RFID based on

demographic, geographic and behavioral variables

AAFA/VICS RFID EPC Committee Meeting

Acknowledgements

Prof. Suzanne LokerProfessor and J.Thomas Clarke Professor of Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise

Department of Textiles & Apparel

Cornell University

Mr. Paul ChamandyV.P. New Business Development

Apparel Systems

Paxar Americas, Inc.,

Graduate Student FundingCollege of Human Ecology

Cornell University