February 7, 2005
E-Marketer
Though a growing number of US consumers are aware of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, less than 50% consider it a good idea. Recent efforts by a consumer watchdog group indicate it will be an uphill battle for businesses to prove RFID's worth.
The RFID Consumer Buzz study from BIGresearch and Artafact LLC determines that the number of consumers aware of RFID has risen from 28.2% in Q3 2004 to 35.% in Q4 2004. However, only 44% of consumers think RFID is a good idea.
The Buzz study, based on a survey of 8,500 US consumers, also found that more men than women are aware of RFID, with just under 50% of men but just 24.9% of women saying they are aware of the technology. What's more, 67.2% of those women who are aware of RFID either do not think it is a good idea or are not sure about the technology.
Contributing to consumers' trepidation about RFID are actions like those of the US-based Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (Caspian) organization. VNU reported on February 3 that Caspian is calling for a worldwide boycott of UK supermarket giant Tesco since the company announced it would expand its RFID testing from two to 10 stores.
Caspian refers to RFID tags as "spychips," and runs a Web site by the same name to educate consumers about the technology. According to the privacy policy on Tesco.com, customers have a right to obtain the personal information being held by their company.
Businesses see RFID technology not only as a way to increase internal efficiences, but also to improve customer service. Aberdeen Group reported in March 2004 that while 25% of global companies said improving efficiencies was the reason they were motivated to invest in RFID technology, 38% said they were investing in RFID to improve customer service.
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