Feature-rich near field communication (NFC) tags for hyper-personalized
experiences, advanced security tags for enhanced product protection, along
with
enhanced NFC support
in Apple’s just-announced iOS 13 operating system are making smart
product tags more compelling than ever.
This is happening at a time when changing consumer focus is causing a major
disruption in the luxury industry. Luxury consumers are increasingly looking
for the rare, unique and unexpected and are seeking out new experiences, with
sustainability also playing an important role in purchasing decisions. At the
same time, luxury consumers are getting younger and increasingly like to shop
online. The management consulting firm Bain & Company forecasts that
Generations Y and Z will represent about 55 percent of the 2025 luxury market.
NFC Is the Better Way to Connect and Engage with Consumers
NFC tags embedded in products and their packaging can now connect with
consumers in new, immediate and more intimate ways, merging the physical and
digital, with customization, personalization and virtual reality enhancement.
Bain & Company estimates that 50 percent of luxury purchases will be
digitally enabled by 2025 as a result of new technologies along the value
chain, including mobile payments.
NFC tags can engage luxury consumers more deeply, by linking to exclusive
brand content, highly personalized services, exclusive brand communities or
special VIP experiences. In addition, NFC can improve customer relationship
management (CMS) through real-time data collection, originating from the
products themselves and enabling new intelligence on user behaviors and
predictive analytics.
The Importance of Brand Authentication
Since 2010, there has been a spectacular increase in counterfeit luxury goods
worldwide, with double digit annual growth from 2013 onwards. (Vandagraf
Research) Some product imitations look so authentic that they are classified
as ‘super fakes’ or ‘triple-A fakes’, making it
impossible to tell the difference without special equipment, let alone with
the naked eye. So luxury brands are coming under ever increasing pressure to
respond more effectively to this menace.
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Placing a security NFC tag on the branded product addresses this problem by
making it easy for anyone with an NFC enabled smartphone to verify
authenticity of branded goods. The NFC tag with a secured link to an online
authentication service can confirm its origins at any point in the lifetime of
the product, whether it’s in the supply chain, at the point of sale or
even returned after the sale as part of warranty claim.
The Special Case of Second-Hand Luxury Goods
The issue of authenticity in especially serious within the growing market of
second-hand luxury goods. To help reassure customers, some sites have experts
examine the item before it’s sold.
For example, with designer handbags, which can have price tags well above
$1,500 apiece, certain retailers, including eBay, Poshmark and the RealReal,
pay third-party authentication experts to examine items physically and verify
authenticity before the item is listed for sale. According to CBInsights, the
markup for authentication can be from 20 to 45 percent of the purchase price.
Yet, NFC tagging can eliminate this issue, helping protect brand trust with
greater accuracy and at a lower price. Brands can even start offering an
on-tap registration platform, so consumers can register product ownership and
in case of its sale in the second-hand market, can prove and transfer
ownership to others.
Apple iOS 13 Changes the Game for NFC
At the same time, Apple recently announced
a major upgrade
to their operating system in iOS 13. With Apple adding the ability to write to
tags, as well as interact with tags through native protocols (such as ISO/IEC
7816 combined with ISO/IEC 14443 for proximity tags and ISO/IEC 15693 for
vicinity tags), the iPhones’ NFC capabilities will become even more
powerful. So all of the luxury buyers worldwide who own smartphones (iOS,
Android) will also have an NFC reader to tap and interact with NFC smart tags
and labels, leveraging advanced NFC functionalities.
Experience the Latest Advances NFC in Person at LuxePack Monaco
NXP Semiconductors is the world’s number-one supplier of NFC chip
technologies for smart tags, labels, closures and more. Our portfolio offers a
powerful combination of chip performance and feature mix, across every
security level, so we can meet customers’ specific needs with multiple
form factors that deliver rich yet secure experiences.
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For luxury goods in particular, the
NXP NTAG® 424
uses multi-layered security, with optional opening status detection, including
special features, such as AES-128 cryptography, message and mutual
authentication mechanisms and enhanced privacy protection.
NTAG Secure Services
support with a new cloud-based authentication solution. The result is the most
sophisticated NFC solution available today, providing luxury goods with the
most advanced counterfeiting protection along with highly personalized and
unique digital experiences.
To learn more, visit
NFC
or visit us at NXP booth #AC9 at
LuxePack Monaco 2019
, to see just some of the latest brands deploying NFC today in their
packaging, along with the latest advances in NFC technology—for
high-end clothing to wines and spirits to cosmetics.
