IDTechEx Discusses the Effect Walmart's RFID Mandate Will Have On RFID Adoption in Retail

The big news in the RFID industry at the start of 2022 was Walmart's announcement — the world's leading retailer revealed plans to expand RFID use from retail apparel to other retail departments.The retailer requested that its suppliers for the departments listed above place Gen 2 UHF RFID tags, which has a frequency of 902-928 megahertz, on all items delivered to Walmart.

According to Walmart, UHF RFID tags were adopted in its retail apparel sector in 2020, and inventory management has improved dramatically since then, resulting in a better in-store shopping experience for customers, additional online and in-store pickup opportunities, and improved sales potential. This is considered the primary motivator for Walmart to expand RFID deployment to other categories.

IDTechEx believes that as reader infrastructure becomes more widely available, RFID adoption will further accelerate in both retail for apparel&footwear and for other retail segments This includes moving beyond inventory management offering benefits such as customer engagement and advertising, which can be realized to justify the additional cost of RFID added to products.