Wal-Mart shoppers are more likely to find items they want
in stock, when compared to other control stores, due to the retailer’s use of electronic product codes (EPCs) powered by radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, says an independent University of Arkansas study.
Researchers found a 16 per cent reduction in out-of-stocks with EPCs. They also established that out-of-stock items with EPCs were replenished three times faster than comparable items using standard bar code technology.
The 29-week study analysed out-of-stock merchandise at 12 pilot stores equipped with RFID technology and 12 control stores without the technology.
