How Fast is Retail Adopting RFID?

If recent news and information about the apparel business and omnichannel retailing are any indication, universal RFID adoption is an industry fait accompli. Except when it isn’t. Not yet, anyway. Statistics from retail reporters, industry groups and retailers themselves share RFID usage numbers ranging from 50 percent to 96 percent. In actuality, these numbers are inaccurate, exceedingly optimistic, and obscure the actual realistic pace of RFID adoption, which is far slower and more methodical. While the aim among retailers to integrate RFID technology into their operations rates is near 100 percent, actual deployment of full RFID systems still hovers in the single digits.