Results: RFID and Identity Management in everyday life - ITAS

long run, like narrow-casting and other Customer Relationship Management schemes. This
should bring sales up by enhancing cross-selling and up-selling [18].
Mr. Vink says the store did not receive any complaints on the introduction of RFID from their
clientele. With regard to the store personnel he says they are ‘passively sceptical’ and it seems
as though operational issues are the basis for this [18].
When the store opened its doors in the beginning of 2006, a member of the BGN management
board envisioned a more extensive interpretation of the technology, compared to the current
situation. He mentioned the possibility to link the tags to screens in the shop to display
information or advertisements. Naturally, it is not prohibited to use smart marketing techniques
in your own store, but this method seems to be somewhat more invasive, with screens lighting
up when a client picks a certain book from a shelf. Currently, the store has no such displays
and, relying on their precautious strategy, they will not come in the near-future. In fact, the
customer hardly notices the tags and only the leaflet on the RFID tags and the ‘beep’ after
paying for an item reminds of their presence [3, 16, 17].
ID issue Item-level tagging is quite well accepted for distribution and logistics application. However, the
use of it in stores brings about controversy over privacy. In order to avoid negative sentiment, it
is important to be very clear on the nature of data on the chips and the purposes of the system.
Sources 1. ‘Progress Software pioneers retail automation with first item-level RFID and SOA
deployment’. 19 April 2006
(http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1836075961, visited 1 August 2006)
2. Malykhina, E., ‘BGN is one of the first merchants to tag individual books, in a new line of
stores branded "Selexyz." ’ In: InformationWeek, 19 June 2006.
(http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189401951, visited
26 June 2006)
3. ‘Besteld boek in Almere belt zelf met klant’. 26 April 2006
(http://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/article294564.ece/Besteld_boek_in_Almere_belt_z
elf_met_klant, visited 20 June 2006)
4. Demery, P., ‘With RFID tags on each book, Netherlands` BDG chain gives new meaning
to speed-reading’. (http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketingconference/74189-rfid-smartstore.html,
visited 1 August 2006)
5. Peteghem, L. van, ‘Boekhandel Almere koploper met RFID’. In: Automatisering Gids, nr.
27, 2006
6. http://www.rafsec.com/homeb.html, visited 30 August 2006
7. http://www.progress.com (visited 1 August 2006)
8. http://www.capturetech.nl/ (visited 1 August 2006)
9. http://www.3com.com (visited 1 August 2006)
10. http://www5.cbonline.nl/vni/html/ (visited 1 August 2006)
11. Vink, J. and Smit, M., ‘Een RFID chip op elk product in een boekenwinkel’. 24 May 2006.
Rotterdam, Emerce (http://www2.emerce.nl/downloads/selexyz.pdf, visited 1 August
2006)
12. ‘First RFID Item-Level Tagged Store Opens’. 26 April 2006
(http://www.rfidupdate.com/articles/index.php?id=1103, visited 1 August 2006)
13. ‘Uitgebreide rfid-proef in Almeerse boekhandel succesvol’
(http://tweakers.net/nieuws/42763/Uitgebreide-rfid-proef-in-Almeerse-boekshopsuccesvol.html,
visited 19 July 2006)
14. ‘Slimme boekwinkel draait op RFID’. In: Automatisering Gids, no. 17, 27 April 2006
15. Songini, M. L., ‘Dutch bookseller creates item-level RFID system’. In: Computerworld, 8
May 2006
16. Personal observations in Selexyz Scheltema Bookstore on 29 august 2006
17. ‘Nieuw. In onze winkel heeft elk boek zijn eigen chip.’ (leaflet provided in the Selexyz
Scheltema bookstore)
18. Interview with Mr. Jan Vink, ICT manager of BGN, on 13 september 2006
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