Category: Social Business

Description:  Consumer-centric Radio Frequency (RF) tagging on shopping items;     
                          a RF tag reader in the consumer’s house.



Idea:  



A system to assist consumers in gaining more knowledge about what they buy, how much it is, etc..


With RF tags people track everything they buy on their computer.  When they enter their home, their products’ RF tags are read by the home’s/computer’s sensor(s) and automatically put into the computer.  The tag has the exact product along with additional information.


After entering into the computer, a simple statistics program can yield conceptual data on what is being bought, from individual days to buying trends over periods of time.


Each store voluntarily creates RF tagging (with attached information) per product. Advantage to store is the added draw for customers who want this service.  Might be advantage(s) to a more-assured anonymous tracking of what leaves the store.


Product information can be extensive and can work synergistically with other product-information systems.



Begin at a pilot store in a very “green-minded”, higher income area (e.g., a silicon valley suburb)- provide discounted USB scanners, with free computer program included, to consumers.



Example(s):  

Jill goes to two stores- a clothing and grocery store.  She buys her products.  When she comes home her scanning system automatically reads what she bought and enters what she bought into her home’s computer.  At the end of the day she reviews the statistics on what she bought for that day.  She sees that 5% of the groceries she bought were organic, and 10% of the clothes she bought were made in the U.S.A..  She reviews her year’s buying statistics and sees she has gradually bought less and less organic and more and more U.S.A.-manufactured clothing.  She makes a mental note to buy more organic groceries.

Ned shops at the local grocery store; his items are scanned in at his home.  Later he reviews the statistics of his purchasing over the last 2 years and sees that pears have inflated in price substantially and apples have gotten progressively cheaper.  He makes a note to start buying more apples and less pears.

Deborah uses the program to affirm how she has been buying healthier and healthier food, and has been managing to cut back on her clothing expenses.

Future Additions(s):  

Additional information attached to tags- e.g., environmental practices-rating of company manufacturing product, labor environment quality rating (pay, benefits, ratio of C.E.O. pay to laborer pay, etc), human rights rating of countries where business is located.

Home computer can create a core shopping information list.  List can be sent to store; store can gather items for pickup at the store.


Simple scanners for users to read, at the store, all the information contained in the RF tags.  Individually owned or supplied by the store (idea- attached to carts).



Confidence:  2

Relatively high start-up investment per infrastructure, with a relatively low yield in extra profit;  However, once consumers have their side of the infrastructure, infra. creation at-the-store would be a medium to low investment (given a minimum consumer density).

In certain demographic areas, if this was relatively successful in individual stores, there would be great pressure for competing stores to adopt the system.  

Home RF scanners need to be relatively powerful to make RF tag reading realistically efficient.  A situation where the user has to scan each product individually wouldn’t be viable.

Home computers would have to stay on to automatically read the RF tags. Otherwise, the computers would have to be turned on- not realistic for system to work given human element.

Privacy security risk, and public concern over a privacy security risk - Non-store scanners outside of the store could potentially read what a person has in their vehicle, or in their house.

Additional Comment(s):  


Creates a stronger, more knowledgeable consumer.