Skip to main content

Passive RFID grows by 1.12 billion tags in 2014 to 6.9 billion

More than five years later than the industry had expected, market research and events firm IDTechEx find that the passive RFID tag market is now seeing tremendous volume growth. Market research and events firm IDTechEx find that the passive RFID tag market is now seeing tremendous volume growth - more than five years later than the industry had expected. Most of the growth is based on retailer adoption of UHF RFID for shelf-level stock replenishment, with the latest example being fashion retailer Zara r
October 31, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
More than five years later than the industry had expected, market research and events firm 6582 IDTechEx find that the passive RFID tag market is now seeing tremendous volume growth.

Market research and events firm IDTechEx find that the passive RFID tag market is now seeing tremendous volume growth - more than five years later than the industry had expected. Most of the growth is based on retailer adoption of UHF RFID for shelf-level stock replenishment, with the latest example being fashion retailer Zara recently announcing its intention to roll out RFID to approximately 2,000 stores by 2016.

IDTechEx forecast in the new report, RFID Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2014-2024, that 25 billion RFID tags will be used on retail apparel and shoes in 2020 and a similar number on other ‘high value, high complexity mix’ items. Many other segments are taking off thanks to standardised, reliable technology where applications outside of retail are leveraging the considerable investment put in by RFID suppliers to address retailer needs.

Average tag prices in HF RFID are typically higher than UHF tags, often due to the need for greater security and therefore IC complexity, for example for payment applications. While NFC has been a failure so far due to lack of resolve between payment, telecoms and phone companies, it may be that Apple sets it on the right path and NFC begins to see traction over the coming years.

IDTechEx has found some striking territorial differences, as summarized in the chart below. UHF adoption is strongest in the US and Europe, and relatively weak in Asia in terms of number of tags, although tag production is increasingly moving there. In contrast, HF adoption has been strong in all territories, but particularly in Asia.

Overall, IDTechEx find that in 2014, the total RFID market is worth US$8.89 billion, up from US$7.77 billion in 2013 and US$6.96 billion in 2012. This includes tags, readers and software/services for RFID cards, labels, fobs and all other form factors. IDTechEx forecast that to rise to US$27.31 billion in 2024.

Related Content

  • TagMaster reader and ID-tags
    February 2, 2012
    TagMaster has launched the XT series readers and ID-tags addressing the EPC Gen 2 specification designed for application areas such as parking, gated communities, and condominiums as well as people access. TagMaster is initially introducing the XT-2eu and XT-2us to its UHF series. The XT-2eu is designed to comply with the European regulations for ISO18000-6 type C, while the XT-2us is designed for the North American regulations, in terms of frequency range and output power.
  • Customised RFID
    January 31, 2012
    German companies KSW Microtec and Melzer have announced a collaborative initiative to produce a multi-layer UHF label for customised applications in access control and asset tracking. Drawing on the flexible engineering of KSW's windshield inlays and powered by Melzer's new SL-600 processing machine for converting selfadhesive label stock and dry inlays to fully functional RFID tags, the partners claim the labels offer the best and consistent read range for all types of applications.
  • Revenue growth of 30 per cent forecast for connected car market in 2016
    March 16, 2016
    According to research company Statista’s Digital Market Outlook (DMO), 2016 will see approximately 11 million connected cars in America, with almost 32 million intelligent cars on America’s streets by 2020. Worldwide the number of connected cars is forecast to rise to 160 million intelligent vehicles. Statista claims the main impact of the enormous growth of the market comes from the rapid development of new features and possibilities. The biggest segment however, according to the DMO, is not infotainmen
  • Electric vehicles in construction are the future, say researchers
    December 20, 2016
    The industrial and commercial sector is the largest part of the electric vehicle value market and that will continue to be the case according to analysis in the IDTechEx report, Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles 2017-2027. Buses are the largest part of that and they are mainly made in China for China, where typical orders are ten times the size of orders elsewhere. Less dramatically, construction, mining and agriculture do not see 70 per cent grants for EV versions yet they are steadily becomin