News

Krause Outlet puts 24-hour automated fashion show in the store window

February 2, 2009

RFID Journal: Serendipity, creativity and years of patience are the basis for a clever application that utilizes radio frequency identification to operate a 24-hour automated fashion show in store windows. The system, employed by a retail store in an industrial park in northern Germany, displays information regarding each garment, thereby allowing shoppers to use their mobile phones to reserve the clothes they see, then purchase those outfits via a vending machine.

Erwin Krause owns Krause Outlet, a warehouse and store that sells off-season men's and women's brand-name fashions that it buys from retailers eager to reduce inventory. The store often has individual items rather than full sets of all sizes and colors of a particular garment. Before Krause implemented RFID, customers had to wait for up to two weeks before purchasing items displayed in one of its windows. A clerk would manually write down the shopper's name and telephone number, then call when that item was taken out of the window and became available for purchase. Krause realized decades ago that this was hurting sales, however, and dreamed of a system that would enable him to have clothing constantly on display in the store window, even if items were selling quickly.

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