Retail stores deploy RFID technology to improve consumer experience

MS Mode is rolling out a solution in 185 Stores to understand each store's inventory levels to better serve online customers and provide them with offline appointments to try on selected products from the online store .

MS Mode, a European fashion brand owned by Cool Investments, plans to deploy RFID solutions to improve inventory accuracy. The solution will be used to track merchandise in its 185 stores. The technology will initially be rolled out in three stores and will be available in all stores by October 2021. The RFID solution is mainly used to ensure that each of its stores can access inventory to meet omni-channel sales needs during and after the epidemic.

MS Mode hopes to use this technology to better serve online customers and allow customers to place orders at the nearest offline store based on the proximity principle. At the same time, it allows customers to check the products in the store in advance before visiting the offline store, and then order to try or purchase these products. Once the solution is fully deployed by the end of this year, it will become the largest RFID promotion project in the Benelux countries.

MS Mode's customers have become omnichannel shoppers, said Robert Jan Haitink, MS Mode's project manager. Before the outbreak, more and more consumers were already shopping online, browsing products in online stores before going to stores to try them on. Online shopping behavior has seen a further shift during the pandemic, with customers not only browsing for items online before arriving at offline stores, but also purchasing directly. With lockdowns easing across Europe and customers quickly returning to offline stores, the social aspect of shopping remains a big driver of store traffic, Haitink said.

MS Mode stores are located in the Benelux region, as well as in France and Spain. During the epidemic, according to the regulations of various countries, stores are either temporarily closed or limit the number of customers, or customers can make appointments for shopping, which has a significant impact on customer flow. "Fortunately, more and more customers are shopping online at our online store," Haitink said. "We will do our best to continue to serve our customers and stay as safe as possible during this difficult time."

Haitink also said that with the end of the epidemic, MS Mode expects online shopping to continue to maintain strong momentum, because customers are now accustomed to browsing online in advance, so customers who come to offline stores will know themselves better than ever before needs. In fact, before the outbreak, the company had already planned to deploy RFID to improve inventory accuracy. He recalled that the application of RFID technology began about five years ago, when MS Mode began working with Nedap on the business case. By tagging each piece of clothing, retailers can track the inventory of each item, thereby reducing shortages. goods risk.

Another Cool Investments brand, Dutch fashion retailer America Today, has been using RFID to track inventory. Based on its successful experience, MS Mode has now chosen to promote the technology without conducting a pilot. The rollout will begin with three stores for early testing of some processes and procedures so store personnel can easily adapt to the technology across the company. "We want to apply these learnings to all of our stores," Haitink said.

Solutions used by MS Mode include standard packages, handheld readers and passive UHF RFID tag tags. To uniquely identify each item, tags are affixed to products when they are produced and then read when the products arrive in stores. Bruno Bakker, global business development manager, said each site is equipped with a handheld iD reader to read tag data.

When the tag is read, the cloud platform will update the status of the item received in the store. The system then forwards this data to the MS Mode app developed by the brand, using algorithms to determine exactly which inventory should be sent to which stores and channels at what time. Tags are also read during weekly inventory counts and store receipts.

In addition, Barker said the replenishment feature will allow store associates to restock their sales area based on available inventory in the warehouse and provide prioritized replenishment recommendations. A self-learning algorithm is used to generate replenishment recommendations that take into account observed size inventory in a given store. For example, if sales of size M products increase, the system will alert salespeople to stock more of that size in their sales areas.

Haitink said that for MS Mode, inventory visualization will be able to adapt to changing consumer expectations. “Reliable warehouse management is a prerequisite for success,” he explains. “Our aim is to allow customers to see the availability of goods in stores in the near future and to provide them with the opportunity to pre-order. We believe that only inventory Reliability helps achieve this and avoid disappointing our customers because we don’t have a product.”

Haitink pointed out that MS Mode hopes to use RFID technology to display store inventory online to help offline customers. This feature will allow store shopping guides to provide personalized service to ensure customers find the products they want to buy. MS Mode also hopes to achieve greater operational efficiencies to improve customer experience.

MS Mode's main goal is to get the RFID system running in all its stores. MS Mode will explore whether RFID can be deployed in its distribution center to realize automated receipt and storage of goods. "In the near future we will look at whether the customer experience can be improved through the use of smart mirrors, mobile payments and self-checkouts and whether RFID can be used to enhance loss prevention," Haitink said.

The initiative starts in the Benelux market and will be rolled out to stores in other countries. The first batch of deployments is expected to be put into use in September 2021, with full launch in November. Training will be provided to store managers and employees through its "train the trainer" concept. In this model, it works with what it calls "Champion Stores," using technology from the first three stores to deliver training, with that team then training the entire company. After that, Barker said, the champion store will train the regional stores, and the regional stores will train other stores in their own districts.