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RFID—the “Next Step” in Consumer–Product Relations or Orwellian Nightmare? Challenges for Research and Policy

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Abstract

Radio frequency identification (RFID) has been successfully implemented in supply chain management, automated toll collection, and inventory control. The next implementation is expected to come in retail, with RFID embedded in products, on shelves, and at check-out points for value-added sales and post-purchase services. This vision of a pervasive and omnipresent technology has spurred considerable controversy due to privacy concerns and fears of an Orwellian surveillance society. At the moment, consumer-oriented RFID research is scarce and fragmented. This paper seeks to chart the RFID territory, address the research that is readily available, and conclude with a call for a more encompassing research agenda on RFID and consumers. Research on RFID is needed to better understand the various contexts RFID appear in, to inform policy-makers not familiar with the many challenges involved, and to make industries aware of the full range of consumer-critical issues in RFID development.

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Notes

  1. This concept will be explained later in the article. For further information: www.iot-visitthefuture.eu

  2. Ref.: www.rfidlab.no/cgi-bin/ean/imaker?id=113960

  3. Metro Group Future Store Initiative: Ref.: www.future-store.org and Metro Group, RFID newsletter 04/2008: Ref.: www.rfidlab.no/data/f/1/14/02/7_22301_0/RFID_Newsletter_0408_E.pdf

  4. Ref.: http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,10005241,00.htm

  5. Ref.: www.boycottgillette.com

  6. Ref.: www.iot-visitthefuture.eu

  7. E.g. supermarket loyalty programmes and cards.

  8. Closed-Circuit Television

  9. CASPIAN, a US-based consumer group, was formed in the USA in 1999 to address issues related to supermarket and retailers’ collection and potential abuse of consumer information. RFID is seen by the group as a “Big Brother” technology that will monitor consumer purchases and habits.

  10. See: www.spychips.org—the spychips webpage is a CASPIAN project.

  11. Ref.: http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/RFIDposition.htm

  12. Ref.: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/rfid/index_en.htm

  13. Ref.: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=2838

  14. Ref.: http://www.pcworld.com/article/142698/eu_drafts_rfid_guidelines.html

  15. Ref.: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/rfid/index_en.htm

  16. See EPC Global online: www.epcglobalinc.org/public/ppsc_guide

  17. See GS1 in Europe online: www.gs1.eu

  18. Ref.: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4886598.stm

  19. BBC News, February 2005:“Alarm over shopping radio tags”

  20. Wired.com, June 2006:“RFID: Sign of the (End) Times?”

  21. ZDNet, January 2003: “Are spy chips set to go commercial?”

  22. Article published in May 2008 but submitted as early as September 2006.

  23. These studies have been criticised for being funded by the National Retail Federation and, hence, for being biased.

  24. The first large-scale rollout of RFID in a retail context worldwide.

  25. Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act [2004].

  26. In addition to independent variables of psychographic and demographic character

  27. Ref.: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/tl/soccul/eincl/index_en.htm

  28. Ref.: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/index_en.htm and http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/145&type=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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Acknowledgements

The main idea of this article derives from a paper presented at the Nordic Consumer Policy Research Conference in Helsinki in 2007 (Slettemeås 2007). The theoretical and methodological foundation has been extensively developed since then, incorporating many recent research contributions. Consequently, a more coherent proposal for a consumer-oriented research agenda on RFID will be proposed.

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  1. National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO), Sandakerveien 24 C, building B, P.O. Box 4682, Nydalen, 0405, Oslo, Norway

    Dag Slettemeås

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Correspondence to Dag Slettemeås.

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Slettemeås, D. RFID—the “Next Step” in Consumer–Product Relations or Orwellian Nightmare? Challenges for Research and Policy. J Consum Policy 32, 219–244 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-009-9103-z

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