To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

This story was printed from silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com/

Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/enterprise/0,3800003425,39128078,00.htm

Storm in a D-cup: Marks & Sparks expands RFID trials
Tracking tech experiment now going for a thong

By Jo Best

Published: Tuesday 22 February 2005

Marks and Spencer has decided to take RFID technology into even more stores.

The clothes seller has announced the initial trial, which took in nine stores and is aimed at improving stock availability, will be expanded to 53 shops in spring 2006. The 53 stores in question will be the 50 largest stores as well as three others that have been involved in the trial previously.

The remit of the clothes being tracked will also be expanding. The first phase of the trial initially tracked men's suits, with the second phase encompassing women's underwear as well as other items with complex sizing patterns.

In the second stage of the trial, the tags will be added to the existing barcode on clothing items, which will carry the words 'Intelligent Label for stock control use' on it. The second stage of the trial will run until early summer.

To try to allay customers' privacy fears, the tags can be easily removed and thrown away and Marks and Spencer will be putting leaflets explaining the new technology into all the trial stores.

"Our policy is to be completely open about what we are doing," a Marks and Spencer spokeswoman said.

The retailer is also promising there will be no links made between data and individual customer - for example, the link between shoppers' credit card details and clothing size won't be recorded.

However, the issue of tracking technology on sensitive items hasn't gone down well in the past. When fellow garment seller Benetton tried to tag women's lingerie, it was met with a storm of protest and the company eventually dropped the plans.

BT will step in as the main contractor and will provide IT services to the retailer, including deployment assistance and maintenance of the RFID readers. The telco's Auto-ID centre is also involved in the rollout of RFID technology in Marks and Spencer's food supply chain.

The food supply chain rollout started in 2002 and has seen four million returnable food delivery trays tagged.