Today, the hype around the coming RF revolution has reached a turning point. Carttronics Retail Solutions Network (RSN) has emerged as the breakthrough RF system that delivers the kind of loss-prevention, operations, and customer-service solutions that retailers have been waiting for.
The NRF's annual National Retail Security Survey found that retail shrinkage as a percentage of sales averaged 1.61% in 2006 and 1.60% in 2005. Although companies invested in loss prevention technology, total retail loses increased to $41.6 billion in 2006, from $37.5 billion in 2005, as overall sales rose. Employee theft (47%) and shoplifting (32%) accounted for the majority of loss. In an attempt to fight retail theft, retailers use burglar alarms (95.7%), visible closet circuit TVs (87.1%), and digital video (84.9%) to prevent loss. Other loss prevention tactics include check screening, armored cars, and point of sale data-mining software.
On the store operations side, retailers realize that technology can play a role in driving revenue and increasing operational efficiency. Effective solutions, or the lack of them, can be a survival issue in the fast-paced but low-margin retail sector.
To enhance the customer experience, retailers need to continue to invest in in-store technologies. AMR Research surveyed 147 retail IT and store operations executives across industry segments to help retailers benchmark their current and future store technology spending. The results indicate investment in the store will show the highest ROI in the supply chain in the coming years as retailers act to differentiate themselves in front of the consumer.
Technology was supposed to assist in building better customer service and reducing shrink at retail, and to a certain extent it has. But some of the base processes of loss prevention and store operations still need to be addressed.
What are RF and RFID?
RF stands for radio frequency, which we know in the form of FM radio and more recently as Wi-Fi. RFID refers to "RF identification" which takes the form of something akin to a unique license plate which is capable of communicating its presence and identity wirelessly via RF.
Carttronics RSN is a system of integrated, programmable RF, components that form a silent, invisible network that can monitor events, control functions, and report out wirelessly, while store employees go about their normal functions.
