Tuesday, December 26, 2006

A Tactical View of the Shopping Landscape

Thanks for the link to this article go to the All Points Blog. According to a PCAdvisor article, Tokyo's Ginza shopping district will be installing around 10,000 Fadio Frequency Identification (RFID) transmitters throughout the shopping area. A study will be performed to see how providing location-based information helps shoppers.

Imagine the possibilities of taking mobile mapping to a new level. RFID and GPS have been used to provide large-scale location information for travelers (mobile mapping, driving directions, etc.) and goods and parcels in transit (it is how FedEx and UPS do such a great job of keeping track of where our packages are) for a long time. But using RFID to provide tactical location information is a new trend that I believe will boom over the next few years. Imagine using a device in Home Depot or WalMart that will tell you where everything you are looking for is located, and then guiding you there verbally. The RFID sensors can also be integrated with scanners in your shopping cart in a way that whatever you pull off the shelves and place in your cart can be automatically scanned for checkout making the shopping experience much more enjoyable and ensuring Home Depot and WalMart that you are charged accurately for your goods.

This is a great article and there is lots of potential in what they are going to do in Ginza. I am very interested in the results.

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