Three RFID �Bright Spots� Will Outpace Overall Market Growth to Show 12.7% CAGR over Next Five Years

RFID (radio frequency identification) is being used or trialed in a variety of industries. Global economic conditions and business necessities have resulted in mixed outcomes: in some areas RFID still faces challenges, while in others, it is thriving. Early this year, ABI Research identified three of the most promising hot-spots as the retail apparel segment, asset management, and active RFID (in a number of verticals).

�2009 has confirmed those assessments,� says RFID practice director Michael Liard. �All three of these RFID application and technology areas have shown strong growth, and today account for 9.3% of the total RFID market, with combined revenues of more than half a billion dollars. We expect the trend to continue in 2010 and beyond: apparel, asset management and active RFID should show a 12.7% combined compound annual growth rate through 2014, outpacing the overall RFID market growth. This is considered strong growth given the level of maturity of many RFID-based asset management applications.�

Specifically, adoption of item-level RFID in the fashion apparel market is graduating from pilot testing to full-scale deployment. While installations at Marks and Spencer in the United Kingdom, American Apparel in the US, and Charles V�gele in Switzerland remain the largest contributors to market growth, scores of companies are now in various stages of implementation.

Asset tracking and management is showing particular applicability to work-in-process tracking, including spare parts and tools; Returnable Transport Items (RTIs); IT asset management; medical assets, rental item management (library books, media, laundry, etc.); and yard management. �Multiple RFID frequencies and technologies support asset management, affording opportunities for multiple vendors,� notes Liard.

Active RFID-based solutions, including real-time location systems (RTLS), is expected to experience solid growth in a number of verticals, such as healthcare, manufacturing, aerospace and defense, transportation, and commercial services, in support of asset tagging, people tracking, and more.