With intelligent dressing rooms, helpful mirrors and smart shelves, customers at Galeria Kaufhof in Essen enjoy optimized service and a totally new shopping experience due to RFID.
Kaufhof Warenhaus AG is rolling out Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) at its department store in Essen. In a pilot project in the men’s fashion department, some 30,000 products have been fitted with additional RFID labels – known as Smart Chips. The technology enables the company to speed up processes and increase availability of goods. But above all, RFID is the key to a range of innovative applications that increase customer satisfaction even further. “By using RFID at our Galeria Kaufhof sales brand, we are giving customers a totally new kind of shopping experience, and are considerably improving customer service,” says Zygmunt Mierdorf, Member of the Management Board of METRO Group.
Intelligent applications to inform and advise Since 2004, the METRO Group has used RFID throughout its entire supply chain and in its warehouse management. And within the context of its Future Store Initiative, the retailing company has been testing innovative applications for its front stores for years. Thanks to the pilot project at Galeria Kaufhof in Essen, customers can now enjoy the extensive benefits and possibilities of RFID technology. In the Gardeur Shop at the Essen outlet, Smart Dressing Rooms, Shelves and Mirrors make for a totally new shopping experience: for example, the Smart Dressing Room recognizes a garment via RFID and, on an integrated display, provides the customer with useful information such as price, material and care instructions. Another innovative feature, to be added to the system within this year, informs customers of complementary products. For example, when a shopper tries on a pair of pants, a matching shirt will appear on the screen. The Smart Dressing Room also offers information on available sizes and colors. The customer receives comprehensive advice without even having to leave the dressing room.
Optimizing availability of goods But this is just the beginning of the benefits RFID technology offers the customer: with help of handheld readers – Mobile Assistants – employees can very easily determine where in the front store a specific product is located. And the technology also helps to optimize the availability of goods:at the press of a button, employees can check how many products are in stock, and reorder products in good time. “By using RFID, we want to boost the availability of every product for our customers,” says Dr. Uwe Schlick, Member of the Management Board of Kaufhof Warenhaus AG.
RFID on every product To ensure that customers benefit from the many possibilities that the technology offers, METRO Group has fitted every single product in the men’s fashion department at Galeria Kaufhof in Essen – that is, around 30,000 products – with RFID. Each product has an additional label bearing an RFID transponder, on which the product's Electronic Product Code (EPC) is stored.
Using special software, this number allows authorized users to access information in a database including, for example, details on the manufacturer, size, and price. No personal data are collected via RFID. If the customer desires, the Smart Chip will be removed by employees once the product has been paid for. RFID readers, which are integrated into the various innovative applications, are also installed at all doors between storage areas and the front store, as well as at the cash register. They can identify a product’s EPC quickly and conveniently without physical or optical contact.
Kaufhof Warenhaus AG is rolling out Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) at its department store in Essen. In a pilot project in the men’s fashion department, some 30,000 products have been fitted with additional RFID labels – known as Smart Chips. The technology enables the company to speed up processes and increase availability of goods. But above all, RFID is the key to a range of innovative applications that increase customer satisfaction even further. “By using RFID at our Galeria Kaufhof sales brand, we are giving customers a totally new kind of shopping experience, and are considerably improving customer service,” says Zygmunt Mierdorf, Member of the Management Board of METRO Group.
Intelligent applications to inform and advise Since 2004, the METRO Group has used RFID throughout its entire supply chain and in its warehouse management. And within the context of its Future Store Initiative, the retailing company has been testing innovative applications for its front stores for years. Thanks to the pilot project at Galeria Kaufhof in Essen, customers can now enjoy the extensive benefits and possibilities of RFID technology. In the Gardeur Shop at the Essen outlet, Smart Dressing Rooms, Shelves and Mirrors make for a totally new shopping experience: for example, the Smart Dressing Room recognizes a garment via RFID and, on an integrated display, provides the customer with useful information such as price, material and care instructions. Another innovative feature, to be added to the system within this year, informs customers of complementary products. For example, when a shopper tries on a pair of pants, a matching shirt will appear on the screen. The Smart Dressing Room also offers information on available sizes and colors. The customer receives comprehensive advice without even having to leave the dressing room.
Optimizing availability of goods But this is just the beginning of the benefits RFID technology offers the customer: with help of handheld readers – Mobile Assistants – employees can very easily determine where in the front store a specific product is located. And the technology also helps to optimize the availability of goods:at the press of a button, employees can check how many products are in stock, and reorder products in good time. “By using RFID, we want to boost the availability of every product for our customers,” says Dr. Uwe Schlick, Member of the Management Board of Kaufhof Warenhaus AG.
RFID on every product To ensure that customers benefit from the many possibilities that the technology offers, METRO Group has fitted every single product in the men’s fashion department at Galeria Kaufhof in Essen – that is, around 30,000 products – with RFID. Each product has an additional label bearing an RFID transponder, on which the product's Electronic Product Code (EPC) is stored.
Using special software, this number allows authorized users to access information in a database including, for example, details on the manufacturer, size, and price. No personal data are collected via RFID. If the customer desires, the Smart Chip will be removed by employees once the product has been paid for. RFID readers, which are integrated into the various innovative applications, are also installed at all doors between storage areas and the front store, as well as at the cash register. They can identify a product’s EPC quickly and conveniently without physical or optical contact.
