Meijer Testing RFID Tags on Shopping Carts

MICHAEL GARRY

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In one of the first tests of its kind, Meijer here is equipping each of the shopping carts at a Michigan store with an RFID tag to gather data on shopper traffic aimed at expediting the checkout process.

The test, launched in mid-November at a Meijer store in Oshtemo Township, Mich., is employing Wi-Fi-based, battery-powered RFID tags from AeroScout, San Mateo, Calif.

Used in concert with RFID readers, the tags will allow Meijer to know the number of carts in the parking lot, when a cart has been removed from the cart corral and when a cart has arrived at the checkout area, said Stacie Behler, Meijer's vice president, corporate communications & public affairs, in an email.

“The test is to help us manage the front end and optimize customer service,” Behler said. “Once a customer enters the store and begins to shop, we need to consider that customer's checkout some minutes later, and ensure that enough lanes are open so they can check out quickly.”

She could not say how long the test would run or whether other stores would be added. Meijer operates more than 170 supercenters in the Midwest.

Prior industry tests of RFID technology at the store level have prompted criticism from consumer groups about the impact on shopper privacy. However, Behler emphasized that the tags will not track movement through the store, and they will not indicate how long a cart is in any section of the store or what products are in the cart. “We are not tracking customers or customer shopping behavior and therefore there are no privacy issues,” she said.

Meijer has not formally announced the test publicly, though it has been covered by local media. “Customers in the Oshtemo store are likely aware of the test” as a result of the media coverage, Behler said.

Tom Murphy, president of Peak Tech Consulting, Colorado Springs, Colo., said Meijer should communicate directly with customers about the test. “It makes good consumer sense to ensure that customers understand the role of RFID, what benefits they should expect from its use, and what (if any) privacy issues they should consider,” he said via email.

Last year, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, released a study of supermarket shopping-cart paths based on RFID-tracking of 60,000 shoppers conducted by Sorensen Associates.

The RFID tags used in the Meijer test and in the university study are much more powerful and costly (about $65 apiece) than the 10-15-cent tags used by Wal-Mart Stores in its widely publicized RFID program tracking pallets and cases through the supply chain.

Behler did not say whether Meijer will embark on a Wal-Mart-style program, but offered that “RFID is a unique and helpful technology which Meijer will certainly capitalize on in order to increase customer satisfaction and enhance the shopping experience.”

“Meijer is being very creative here,” Murphy said. “Retailers will need to be creative to find ways to use RFID for everything from inventory tracking, out-of-stocks and price management to consumer traffic patterns. This spreads the cost of the infrastructure and tagging across many business benefit opportunities.”