Marks & Spencer (M&S) will begin the phased rollout of item-level radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in 2007 following more than a year of extensive testing of the technology.

The retailer plans to increase the number of stores that tag individual clothing items, including men’s suits and women’s casual wear, from 42 to 120 by next spring.

James Stafford, head of clothing RFID at M&S, says the company will also expand the number of clothing departments using the technology from six to 13 by autumn 2007, to improve efficiency and customer service.

‘Stock accuracy has improved and stores and customers have commented on the more consistent availability of sizes in the pilot departments,’ he said.

The retailer began tagging clothing, including men’s suits, trousers and jackets, and women’s suits, casual trousers and skirts, last year. This year it extended the trial to include its autumn and winter range, bringing the total number of tags used to more than 35 million.

The tags allow staff to carry out stocktaking more efficiently by passing an RFID reader over goods to determine what products need to be replaced. This has led to improved sales through greater product availability.

AMR Research analyst Nigel Montgomery says the full rollout will provide M&S with a significant competitive advantage.

‘This is proof that waiting until the technology is more mature is not necessarily the right strategy, as M&S opted to learn as the technology developed,’ he said. ‘But it went about the trials in a sensible way. It kept the scope of the trials tight, kept their expectations reasonable and did not jump too far ahead with the trials.’

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