
Global Trend Asia
IoT and RFID Solutions Provider
IoT and RFID Solutions Provider
RAIN RFID and other IoT technologies can have a significant role in helping struggling retailers recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. We previously explored three retail trends enabled by RAIN RFID according to Gartner. Below, we dive deep into Gartner’s “Top Trends in Retail Digital Transformation & Innovation for 2021” report, focusing on the part that improved inventory management, enabled by RAIN RFID, can play in helping retailers recover and thrive.
Lack of accuracy
Despite a significant rise in e-commerce over the course of the pandemic and an already elevated consumer demand for omnichannel experiences, “18% of organizations report fulfillment accuracy rates of 95% or better,” according to a recent Gartner “final mile” survey. This low rate can be attributed in part to data, location, and inventory inaccuracies.
Lack of touchless operations
According to the Gartner report, “Customers also expect retailers to offer them safe, touchless shopping experiences. These include providing multiple ways to research, purchase and consume goods, in convenient, contact-free interactions in a hygienic physical environment.” Such experiences require not just contactless payments, but also touchless capabilities across all major customer processes.
Many retailers have already identified a solution to many of these inventory management struggles: investment in digital transformation. The COVID-19 crisis made clear the importance of technology to the retail industry and, specifically, newer technological advancements that can forge a path ahead. Gartner recommends that retailers “improve management of on-hand inventory, avoid ‘dead’ inventory, and reduce waste by leveraging IoT technologies such as RFID and smart shelving.”
How can RAIN RFID in particular help improve inventory management? Here’s how the Impinj platform, using RAIN RFID, is improving inventory management today.