RFID Tags Track Japanese Shoppers
from the everything-comes-to-Japan-first... dept
For all the hype and worries in the US about RFID tags in stores, over in Japan, they're moving forward with plans to use RFID in bookstores. While the article mentions that there have been protests about the technology around the world, though, they don't say anything specifically about Japan. The demonstration system talked about in the article would allow stores to see which books shoppers are picking up, how long they spend flipping through the book, and follow where they wander around the store.
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RFID tags before barcodes
Saki
and
News Papers
I know it seems unbelievable, but a friend recently ran into problems with warehouse inventory automation due to the fact that not every brand of saki uses barcodes on their product.
Also, I have to tell the clerk at the local store how much the Japan Times costs each day because it doesn't "register" on her register due to the lack of a barcode.
So, my guess is that RFID tags will have even lower acceptance than barcodes (besides, how are you going to put an RFID tag on a bottle of saki or a news paper?
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