Key Takeaways:
- RAIN RFID technology is transforming inventory management, sustainability, and operational efficiency across sectors such as retail and logistics.
- The European Union’s Digital Product Passport initiative uses RAIN RFID to enable end-to-end traceability, supporting sustainability and regulatory compliance throughout product lifecycles.
RFID technology is actively reshaping how businesses track, manage, and optimize their physical assets. As manufacturing costs decline and global standards become more unified, this technology continues to unlock new possibilities across a wide range of industries. Organizations are leveraging RFID to minimize waste, enhance customer experiences, and advance sustainability efforts worldwide.
To gain insight into the future of this critical technology, we held an in-depth conversation with Aileen Ryan, President & CEO of the RAIN Alliance, alongside members of the technical committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) RFID Conference, Dan Dobkin and Brian Degnan. The 2026 IEEE RFID Conference is scheduled to take place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from June 16–18, with a focus on addressing the scientific and technical challenges facing the industry.
The discussion covered the evolution of both passive and active RFID technologies, the technical barriers to adoption in sectors such as grocery, and the pivotal role RFID plays in the European Union’s upcoming Digital Product Passport initiative.
RFID Journal: What are the main differences between active and passive RFID technologies?
Aileen Ryan, Dan Dobkin and Brian Degnan: Passive RFID tags do not carry their own power source; instead, they draw energy from the radio frequency field generated by the reader. The most widely used tags, which comply with ISO 18000-6C/63 and are commonly referred to as RAIN RFID, operate in the 860–960 MHz frequency range. However, passive devices are also employed at 13.56 MHz (HF) and 130 kHz. Passive RFID tags can be remarkably low-cost (often just a few cents when purchased in bulk), thin, and resilient. However, their read range is limited—spanning from a few centimeters for HF tags to roughly 10–20 meters for RAIN (also known as UHF) RFID.
Active RFID tags, on the other hand, come equipped with a built-in battery. This allows for continuous signal transmission, extended read ranges (reaching up to hundreds of meters), and more advanced onboard sensing capabilities. The trade-off is a considerably higher price point and a limited battery lifespan.
RFID Journal: How has the adoption of RAIN RFID affected the retail industry, especially in apparel and footwear?
Aileen Ryan: RAIN RFID has dramatically improved inventory accuracy in apparel and footwear retail. Prior to widespread implementation, retailers typically maintained inventory accuracy levels of around 65–75%. With item-level RAIN RFID tagging, many retailers now achieve accuracy rates exceeding 95–99%, which helps reduce out-of-stock incidents, shrinkage losses, and the need for manual cycle counts. Major retailers including Walmart, Target, Nordstrom, Zara, H&M, Macy’s, and Levi’s have implemented RAIN RFID at scale. Those that have adopted the technology have been able to enable omnichannel capabilities—such as buy online, pick up in store, or ship from store—that would otherwise demand substantial overstock buffers or lead to frequent fulfillment errors. The apparel sector continues to represent the largest vertical for RAIN RFID deployment in terms of tag volume.
How Walmart Shapes the RFID Industry
RFID Journal: What role did Walmart play in the early adoption and standardization of UHF RFID technology?
Ryan: Walmart played a significant and well-documented role in building early commercial momentum for UHF RFID. In 2003, Walmart issued a mandate requiring its top 100 suppliers to apply RFID tags to pallets and cases by January 2005. This sent a strong market signal that accelerated investment and helped cultivate the supplier ecosystem that would later support item-level deployment. Following this, the RAIN Alliance, GS1, AIM Global, and other industry, standards, and retail initiatives worked together to transform a promising technology into a globally recognized standard.
RFID Journal: What factors contributed to the success of passive RFID in logistics and warehouse management?
Ryan: Several converging factors drove adoption. First, RAIN RFID tag costs fell dramatically over time—from over a dollar per tag in the early 2000s to just pennies for high-volume orders today—making large-scale deployment economically feasible. Second, the EPCglobal Gen 2 / ISO 18000-63 standard ensured interoperability, allowing readers from different vendors to communicate seamlessly with RAIN RFID tags from any manufacturer. Finally, RAIN RFID enables the simultaneous reading of hundreds of tags without requiring line-of-sight, significantly accelerating receiving, put-away, and shipping operations compared to traditional barcode scanning. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global supply chain crisis also served as a powerful catalyst for adoption.
RFID Journal: What challenges have hindered the widespread adoption of RFID for automated bulk checkout in grocery stores? How can passive RFID technology be expanded to tackle food waste and spoilage detection?
Ryan: The grocery sector has trailed behind apparel for several interconnected reasons. Metal and liquid packaging significantly impair RAIN RFID read performance, necessitating more specialized tag and antenna designs and, in many cases, line-of-sight alignment. The economics are also more challenging: low-margin grocers struggle to absorb even a five-cent tag cost. Produce and fresh items introduce additional complexity due to their irregular shapes and high moisture content. Furthermore, the sheer volume of grocery SKUs and supplier fragmentation add to the difficulty.
Nevertheless, progress is being made on the technical front. In October 2025, Walmart and Avery Dennison introduced RAIN RFID sensor technology to Walmart’s meat, bakery, and deli departments, empowering associates to automate inventory rotation and markdown decisions.
Why RFID Is Essential to the DPP
RFID Journal: How has the integration of RFID technology improved inventory management in retail stores?
Ryan: RAIN RFID allows retailers to complete full store inventory counts in hours rather than days. Real-time visibility enables stores to replenish the sales floor proactively instead of reactively and provides accurate data to support omnichannel order fulfillment.
RAIN RFID also enables retailers to operate with less overall inventory. Because they have real-time insight into exactly what they have and where it is located, lower safety stock levels are sufficient—reducing working capital requirements and decreasing the need for markdowns.
Loss prevention is strengthened through EAS (electronic article surveillance) integration. Some retailers use RAIN RFID to power self-checkout systems and smart fitting rooms. Together, these capabilities lower carrying costs, improve sell-through rates, and elevate the overall customer experience.
RFID Journal: How does the Digital Product Passport initiative in the EU aim to enhance lifetime traceability of retail objects?
Ryan: The EU’s Digital
The Digital Product Passport (DPP), introduced under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), mandates that manufacturers attach a machine-readable identifier to each product. This identifier links to a structured data record detailing the item’s materials, origin, repairability, recyclability, and carbon footprint. RAIN RFID is an officially approved technology for carrying this DPP identifier. The tag’s Electronic Product Code (EPC) delivers a unique, persistent ID that endures throughout the product’s lifespan and can be scanned at any stage—whether in the supply chain or during the product’s use phase.
The DPP framework is set to launch first for batteries and textiles between 2026 and 2027, with additional product categories to follow. For manufacturers and retailers already using RAIN RFID for day-to-day operations, meeting DPP requirements offers a chance to build on infrastructure they already have in place.
How Does RFID Contribute to Sustainability?
RFID Journal: What are the environmental effects of producing 2 trillion RAIN RFID tags annually?
Ryan, Dobkin and Degnan: Today’s passive RFID tags consist of a tiny silicon chip mounted on a plastic substrate, with a printed metal antenna. The tag may include an adhesive backing and a printed barcode or QR code on top. The main environmental footprint of tag production comes from manufacturing the silicon chip itself. However, these chips are extremely small—producing 2 trillion tags per year would consume less than 1% of the projected global semiconductor output by around 2035. So while the impact isn’t zero, it’s relatively minor.
On the other hand, the operational advantages of RAIN RFID deliver significant environmental benefits. By cutting overproduction, improving inventory accuracy, enabling smarter discounting decisions, and streamlining reverse logistics, RAIN RFID helps substantially reduce waste. Any full environmental evaluation must balance the footprint of tag production against these lifecycle-wide gains.
RFID Journal: How have barcodes and QR codes changed as RFID has grown in retail?
Ryan: Barcodes and QR codes haven’t been replaced—they’ve become complementary tools alongside RAIN RFID. Traditional 1D barcodes remain widespread at checkout and in logistics due to their ultra-low printing cost. Meanwhile, QR codes, which smartphones can scan and which can embed a web link, have become a go-to way for brands to share product details directly with consumers. GS1’s “Sunrise 2027” initiative is accelerating the shift from 1D barcodes to 2D codes (like QR codes with GS1 Digital Link) at point of sale, so a single code works for both store scanners and customer phones.
In the near future, as smartphones begin to include built-in RAIN RFID readers, the line between these technologies will blur for everyday users. Consumers will be able to tap their phone on a RAIN tag to access the same rich information—product origin, sustainability metrics, care tips, brand stories—they currently get by scanning a QR code.
RFID Journal: What are the biggest challenges in using RFID to identify products for their entire lifetime?
Ryan, Dobkin and Degnan: For long-lasting goods, tag durability is getting better thanks to improved encapsulation and materials. But designing tags that survive not just shipping and shelving—but actual daily use—can raise costs. This is especially tricky when the benefits of lifetime identification accrue more to society than to the retailer bearing the expense. Additionally, tag chips that retain data for many years (e.g., over five years) cost more than standard commercial chips.
On the data side, we still need interoperable systems to keep live records connected to each tag. This includes harmonizing regional radio frequency rules and standardizing data formats. Organizations like the RAIN Alliance, GS1, and ISO are collaborating to solve these issues.
Privacy is another hurdle: when consumers carry tagged items, concerns about tracking and data use arise. Industry guidelines and policy efforts are addressing these issues, but they involve complex social trade-offs and could slow the adoption of lifetime product identification.
Why Are AI, IoT, and RFID Key to the Future?
RFID Journal: How can better automated location tracking increase the value of RFID tagging?
Ryan: When RAIN RFID location data is combined with computer vision and AI analytics, it creates a powerful sensor fusion layer for autonomous retail stores and warehouses. Robots, restocking systems, and inventory tools can now operate with a level of real-time awareness that wasn’t possible just a few years ago.
RFID Journal: How will AI-powered RAIN RFID and IoT systems transform RFID technology going forward?
Ryan: AI unlocks a new level of insight from RAIN RFID data. Machine learning models can filter out noise from real events, predict stock shortages based on unusual read patterns before shelves go empty, and automatically fine-tune reader network settings.
In omnichannel retail, AI uses RAIN RFID inventory data to optimize order fulfillment and forecast demand down to individual items. In fresh food retail, AI paired with RAIN RFID sensor data enables automatic freshness checks and dynamic pricing. In logistics, AI combines RAIN RFID signals with external data to enable predictive supply chain management. In loss prevention, behavioral AI analyzes RAIN tag movement to detect patterns linked to organized retail crime. AI will also process Digital Product Passport data at scale, uncovering trends in product lifecycle information that can guide more sustainable product design.
Looking further ahead, AI agents managing environments equipped with RAIN RFID—autonomously directing robots, reordering stock, routing returns, and optimizing sustainability outcomes—represent the fusion of RAIN RFID’s physical-world sensing with AI’s decision-making power. The result is a self-managing operations system, where RAIN RFID visibility becomes the sensory foundation of an intelligent, increasingly autonomous network.
