Paul Skehan, Director of the European Retail Round Table (ERRT)

In What Way is ERRT involved with RFID?

We are a small organization with members that are top players in the retail sector, including Asda Wal-Mart, Carrefour, METRO Group, IKEA, Tesco, Inditex and H&M. In January, top managers of these companies get together to talk about issues of common interest, and they define which issues ERRT should work on. For the past two years, members have said we should monitor the legislative framework that is being designed for RFID to make sure that the technology will be rolled out in ways that will benefit consumers and the retail sector. This means we are now focused on the forthcoming recommendation from the European Commission. It is expected in autumn. We have been holding talks with officials to push for a framework that will facilitate item-level tagging. When it is done across the board, tagging at this level will be the most beneficial way for retailers and consumers to use the technology. For example, it will save countless hours of work and reduce stock-outs, and RFID will be the basis for value-added services such as additional product information at information kiosks in stores.

Which of your members are using the technology and how?

In many different ways, but – for example - Marks and Spencer’s use an RFID system that allows it to stock take clothing in-store without having to count each item individually, while in the Kaufhof department store in Essen, METRO Group uses RFID in one of its trials to show consumers what sizes of particular clothing items are available on display units, thereby saving time for the shopper.

What are the main benefits of RFID for the retail industry and for consumers in Europe?

With RFID, companies work more efficiently. Shoppers will find the sizes they need, with fewer stock-outs. What’s more, as retailers make productivity gains in a very competitive retail environment, they drop prices and pass these lower prices on to the consumer.

Why is RFID currently not in wider use by your members?

Some of our member companies are hesitating with RFID because they are waiting for the cost of RFID hardware to drop or for RFID solutions to become more commercially viable. Others are waiting on the European Commission’s recommendation to make sure that an acceptable and workable legal framework for the technology is in place. The impact on consumer privacy is the major concern, however many of our members say that there is a discrepancy between what you read in the news about consumer privacy fears and how consumers actually react to RFID in stores. In reality, very few customers enquire about the technology and data privacy where RFID has been deployed. Our objective is to treat concerns about data privacy and RFID with allowing rational testing of the technology and roll-out of useful applications. We need to encourage the usage of this technology in a way that will keep consumers and the general public assured.

Organisation      

The ERRT is a network of business leaders established to express the views of large retailers on a range of issues of common interest. Their businesses operate worldwide and represent a cross-section of the retail sector. They employ well over 2 million people worldwide: the majority of these jobs are in the European Union. The combined turnover of the ERRT members is over €350 billion.