Today’s retailers rely on radio-frequency identification (RFID) solutions for vital inventory intelligence and loss prevention, but the tags and labels that enable these capabilities don’t always meet the needs of all retailers. For clothing retailers who want a tagging solution that delivers these benefits, plus reliable brand authentication and more, there’s a powerful new option: The new RFID Seam Tag from Sensormatic Solutions.

RFID Seam Tags are designed with clothing retailers in mind. While they operate like the traditional RFID tags today’s retailers already rely on, they do so with one powerful difference: they’re sewn directly into the garment at the point of manufacture. This factory-embedded RFID label is difficult to remove and durable from the factory to the sales floor – and even to the return desk.

In this article, we’ll examine:

• What makes RFID Seam Tags different than traditional Source Tagging options
• The kinds of retailers that will benefit most from RFID Seam Tags’ capabilities
• How RFID Seam Tags deliver value across the retail company
• The role RFID Seam Tags can play in an ecosystem with multiple RFID tagging strategies

Read on to discover the value RFID Seam Tags can deliver – and whether they’re right for your stores and your merchandise.

Unlike most RFID tags and labels, the Sensormatic RFID Seam Tag is designed to be invisible. Its unique design allows it to be embedded into a garment seam or into a shoe, handbag or accessory without changing the look, feel or aesthetics of the product.

"Our RFID Seam Tags are invisible to the shopper, but indispensable to the retailer," states Manish Prasad, Vice President for Global Source Tagging and Partnerships at Sensormatic Solutions. "Behind the scenes, it gives the item a permanent digital identity – enabling inventory accuracy, loss insight and authentication throughout its sales lifecycle."

Prasad added that although traditional tags are not immune to defeat by bad actors, RFID Seam Tags work quietly while maintaining the integrity of the merchandise they're sewn into. While traditional hard tags can be a visual deterrent, most require a sales assistant to manually remove them at the point of sale, which can create friction during checkout and make self-checkout more challenging.

The Sensormatic RFID Seam Tag is sewn into garments by the manufacturer – remaining largely invisible to consumers – and does not require removal at checkout. It also leverages the full potential of RFID technology – but those are just a few of the many benefits RFID Seam Tags can deliver for retailers.

Seam Tags for Inventory intelligence

"When we talk to retailers about their immediate concerns, inventory intelligence and item-level visibility are often at the top of the list," Prasad said. "They’re looking not just for visibility within the store or the back room, but reliable, durable visibility from the factory throughout the supply chain to the store – and even beyond."

As RFID Seam Tags begin their useful life at the point of manufacture and remain active throughout the supply chain and across the store, they provide retailers with comprehensive, end-to-end inventory intelligence. But one differentiating feature RFID Seam Tags offer is that since they’re sewn directly into a garment and aren’t designed to be removed, they can continue to provide vital inventory intelligence during a return process. Powered by Impinj Gen2x technology, consumer privacy is protected and fraudulent returns are prevented. The checkout process can make the sensor completely inoperable or enable a protection mode where both merchandise and consumer purchase data are secured.

‘This is the tag that stays with the item throughout the sales cycle,’ Prasad said. ‘Even if the outer labels are removed, or even if the garment is damaged, the RFID Seam Tag remains readable. As a result, it offers retailers enhanced inventory and omnichannel accuracy.’

Seam Tags for Loss Prevention

Organised retail crime (ORC) remains a threat. Retailers are always looking for new ways to thwart these resourceful would-be thieves who are often skilled at defeating or evading many existing loss-prevention solutions. By making the RFID Seam Tag all but invisible to the consumer, Sensormatic Solutions has also made it all but invisible to ORC groups.

"RFID Seam Tags are embedded in the item, making them harder to find and remove than hang tags or care labels," Prasad said. "If, in the unlikely event they do manage to find the tag, they can’t remove it without damaging the garment they’re intending to resell. This makes RFID Seam Tags a powerful deterrent to ORC groups and opportunistic thieves alike."

In addition to reducing the ‘quick removal’ behaviour favoured by ORC groups, RFID Seam Tags also enable RFID-based loss detection and shrink analytics. And since they work alongside existing Sensormatic RFID-based exit infrastructure, they can often be implemented by a retailer with minimal friction or downtime.

One area that easily differentiates RFID Seam Tags from traditional labels is their ability to provide continual brand authentication from source to store and even during the return process.

"Imagine a national retailer that sells hundreds or thousands of SKUs at a given store. How can they ensure that every product on their shelves is legitimate? There’s no real way to manually inspect every item for authenticity each and every day," said George West, Merchandise Protection and Smart Sensors Solution Manager at Sensormatic Solutions.

But with RFID Seam Tags, a retailer can trust that the products they receive are legitimate, and customers can be assured that they’re not at risk of purchasing fake or grey-market merchandise. This is because RFID Seam Tags provide each item with a unique EPC code, meaning every piece of merchandise has its own digital fingerprint that is visible and traceable.

"Because RFID Seam Tags are embedded at the source, they offer retailers a trusted point of origin," West noted. "In other words, retailers know that they’re receiving what they ordered. And thanks to Seam Tags" durability, they protect against return fraud as well. Retailers can trust what they’re selling – and what they’re taking back during the return process."

This powerful brand protection creates positive downstream effects as well.

"Seam Tags’ brand protection capabilities help to combat resale in grey markets," West said. "They combat fakes, which not only steal revenue, but erode brand value. Traditional RFID tags for clothing and labels can be removed or even faked, but Seam Tags stay with the item and prove that it’s real – even when all other merchandise labelling is gone."

Despite their many benefits, RFID Seam Tags aren’t designed to be the only tag at work in the store. Since retailers often benefit from an ecosystem that includes a variety of options, RFID Seam Tags are designed to augment – not replace – established tagging options.

"RFID Seam Tags aren’t designed for every product, but they are designed to complement traditional tagging strategies in a variety of ways," Prasad said. "They don’t impact the look, fit or feel of the garment, so they protect consumers’ connection to the brand and to the aesthetics of the garment."

"They’re not designed for electronics or jewellery or anything that isn’t made of fabric, but other varieties of Sensormatic hard tags can and do handle those use cases very effectively." West added.

Implementing a tagging ecosystem that includes both RFID Seam Tags and traditional RFID tags and labels can help clothing retailers to gain:

• Reliable, comprehensive inventory intelligence from source to store
• Best-in-class protection against ORC activity and other types of shrink, including return fraud
• The ability to offer seamless self-checkout and frictionless returns without concerns over product authenticity
• Enhanced brand authentication that proves products are real, even when every other tag or label is gone

To find out more about RFID Seam Tags and the role they can play in your tagging ecosystem, get in touch with the team at Sensormatic Solutions today.