Every single detail of the products customers buy, the price range they prefer, as well as the time they take to decide to buy an item will be revealed through the collaboration of RFID (radio frequency identification), computer networks and customer relations management (CRM) systems.

While RFID makes it possible to wirelessly track not only the movement of products on shelves but also customers' purchasing patterns before the information is sent direct to computer systems, CRM helps an enterprise build a database to manage customer relationships in an organised way.

"It is a new alternative to conducting market surveys. Instead of going out on the street and asking people one by one to indicate their preferences in a certain product range, this enables companies to get exactly the information they want," said Pinit Asavanuchit, a consultant at Intersol Consulting Co Ltd.

Introducing a new market survey, the company has divided its potential users into two major groups - superstores and shopping centres. The company's focus is to integrate the wireless technology into shelves in superstores while looking for potential to place the system into shops in shopping centres.

In the case of superstores, Pinit said that long-range sensors would be integrated into shelves to detect information from customers. Apart from gathering information, each sensor will also have the capability to integrate information on the central server that will have the CRM system running on top.

To enable the sensors to read and gather information accurately, a shelf, which is normally six metres long, will have one sensor every three metres.

He said that implementation would not disturb customers when they are shopping at all, as the RFID chip will be embedded in a member card they carry in their purse or pocket.

"This enables a superstore to conduct one-on-one market promotions since information about what customers purchase will be kept individually," he said.

After implementation, the possibility of market surveys is opened. Companies that have their products on the shelves of a superstore can ask the store to position those products in specific relationships with rivals to check what product characteristics and prices influence buyers' decisions. They can then check the outcome of promotion campaigns as customers convert brands.

Pinit said there is also a benefit for customers carrying an RFID-based member card - they can collect points and redeem them later.

"I think it is better to let the customers know what they are carrying and how much their member card can do so that it won't be a kind of privacy intrusion," he said.

When it comes to implementing the technology in shopping centres, Pinit said the concept would be slightly different. Although it is still used to track customers' behaviour, the aim is to enable those who operate shopping centres to trace the popularity of shops renting their space.

Checking information, each shop will have a stand-alone machine for customers to tap their card to earn not only bonus points but also stamps to reduce the cost of car parking.

With the machine located in all shops, shopping centres can later retrieve customers' information.

He said the information would allow shopping centres to discover how to effectively display their products and develop promotions to appeal to certain groups of buyers. Importantly, they can check which shops in which areas can attract the most customers while others in other areas seem less popular, so centre managers can make new arrangements.

The company has been in discussions with several shopping centres. The cost of investing in such a system is Bt10 million to Bt20 million on average.

suchalee@nationgroup.com

Suchalee Pongprasert

The Nation