The electronic tags, known as RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, comprise a microchip and a tiny antenna that transmits data from the chip to a reader. The reader is activated whenever the antenna comes into range and the data can be used to ring up a purchase or trigger an event, such as opening a door or, in Gillette's case, triggering a camera. Usually the range is no more than a few feet.
The technology is expected to improve retail efficiency by making stock checks and payment easier. Wal-Mart, the biggest retailer in the US, is pushing its suppliers to adopt RFID technology. Wal-Mart was the company that also pushed the introduction of the bar code, which RFID is expected to replace.
Gillette's interest in the technology is partly because razor blades are among the most commonly stolen items from supermarket shelves. Tesco has been participating in the Gillette trial, using one of its Cambridge stores. Other retailers are doing similar trials and this week chip-maker Texas Instruments announced that it had created an RFID solution for the dry-cleaning industry.
But RFID' tags have their critics. In general the chips are too small to be removed, and if they are embedded in the product itself – clothes or shoes – rather than the packaging, then they will remain in it. It is also possible for them to remain trackable and this, say privacy groups, is an unacceptable breach of privacy. They worry that criminals, governments or other agencies will be able to identify and track an individual by the RFID tags on his or her person.
Privacy group CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is calling for a boycott of Gillette. Earlier this year, it called for a boycott of Benetton, when the clothing company announced that it was also considering use of RFIDs in its clothes.
"We have corroborated evidence that a Gillette 'smart shelf' fitted with radio frequency identification (RFID) devices can sense when packages are removed from a store shelf and, in response, take pictures of consumers handling them," said CASPIAN founder and director Katherine Albrecht. "Tracking and photographing consumers without their knowledge and consent is unacceptable."
She added, "We want to send a clear message to Gillette and other companies that consumers will not tolerate being spied on through the products they buy."