RFID Tags in Fashion: How 6 Big Brands Use Smart Tags

Prada: Making Customers Feel Special

As early as 2001, luxury brand Prada began adding RFID tags to its clothing. These tags store style, size, color, and price information.

When a customer walks into a Prada store wearing Prada clothes, the RFID system can recognize the outfit and show a model wearing it on a screen, just like on a fashion runway in Milan.

This clever use of RFID makes customers feel proud of what they wear.

H&M: Smarter Stock Management

Since 2014, global fashion retailer H&M has used RFID to improve how it manages inventory.

With RFID, H&M can automatically count:

How many items are in stock

What types of clothes are selling fast

When to restock certain styles

H&M plans to use RFID in 1,800 stores to improve shopping and store efficiency.

Decathlon: Fast Checkout and Better Control

Sporting goods giant Decathlon created its own RFID company, Embisphere, in 2010.

Today, around 85% of Decathlon’s products have RFID tags.

RFID helps Decathlon:

Speed up inventory work (5 times faster)

Reduce product loss by 10%

Let shoppers pay for many items at once without scanning each one

It saves time for both staff and customers.

ZARA: From Design to Shelf in 10 Days

In 2014, ZARA’s parent company, Inditex, started using RFID to improve its supply chain and store management.

By 2016, 70% of its brands were using RFID, helping to:

Track items across warehouses and stores

Improve planning and delivery

Boost sales and profits

Thanks to RFID, ZARA can bring a new design to the store in just 10 days—much faster than most brands.

Uniqlo: Global RFID Rollout

In 2017, Uniqlo became the first Japanese retailer to launch RFID tags worldwide.

RFID tags help Uniqlo:

Track products in 3,000 stores

Speed up restocking

Improve checkout and shopping experience

Even during big sales events, RFID helps Uniqlo keep shelves full and lines short.

Heilan Home: Big Savings on Labor

Chinese fashion company Heilan Home launched its own RFID system in 2016.

The new system stores information like:

Product number

Color

Size

Quantity

After using RFID, Heilan Home:

Cut labor needs by two-thirds

Improved delivery and storage speed by 5 to 14 times

Made warehouse work much easier