Now is the Time to Enable Your Products with NFC
We often speak about how the world is increasingly becoming digital, becoming connected. We speak of the ease of use this digitization creates as our objects sync together to make our human lives as seamless as possible. Yet, with all this talk, a vast majority of traditional products currently lack the ability to connect to one another and the digital world in a meaningful way. As a result, brands lack insights on who is using their products and how they are being used.
The product-consumer-brand interaction stands to grow significantly with the digitalization of traditional goods. To bridge this gap a low cost, durable, non-obtrusive and easy use technology is needed. Sounds like a lot, right? But that technology is not some mythical, down-the-line, yet-to-be created hardware. It exists. Today. It is Near Field Communication (NFC).
Why NFC?
NFC is an extremely cost effective solution to bring dynamic, digital content and experiences to traditional goods. Requiring no battery or perpetual internet connection, and costing less than 25 cents a piece, NFC is the ideal technology to bring the Internet of Things (IoT) to a reality. This unique ability to bring cost effective digital experiences to traditionally static products, unlocks Moore’s Law for everyday objects.
A New Way to Connect with Physical Goods
A new interaction paradigm [1] is required for the physical world to stay relevant to the iPhone generation. NFC is the perfect conduit to augment the physical world with digital experiences. With a simple tap of a smartphone a product’s complete history, detail information, and social media tie-ins can be accessed and brought to life. In the near future this act of tapping products will become as ubiquitous as tapping an app on your home screen, and this future is possible today.
Increase Product Value
In 2016, a product’s value should be more than the sum of its atoms; it should include its digital experience too. Traditional goods need to be augmented with digital content to stay relevant to the modern consumer. Gone are the days when a catchy logo and sleek industrial design were enough to set a product apart from the competition. The ability to package exclusive content from trendsetters and tastemakers directly into a product is the paradigm shift in how products should be priced, marketed, and consumed.
Connect with Consumers
One of the most valuable traits a product can have is to make a consumer feel the product was specifically made for them. NFC introduces a new, dynamic interaction channel for products, allowing direct communication to consumers. This permits individual customers to shape the digital experience of their products, and in turn provides a connection with brands not possible by mass produced static goods.
Authenticity
Counterfeit goods are increasing in both quantity and quality year over year, resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue opportunity. For many big brands this is a part of business without a simple solution. Much like digital enablement allows a product to differentiate itself from other products, embedding NFC allows genuine products to differentiate themselves from counterfeits. Additionally, NFC chips themselves can feature a secure enclave that allows users to verify a product’s authenticity. This feature brings never-before-possible, enterprise grade encryption to traditionally passive products.
Another benefit is the ability to detect and track gray market items. Enabling every product at the factory with a chip not only streamlines supply chain management, but also detects gray market items, enabling associated digital experiences to respond accordingly.
Product Lifecycle Management
Currently brands have great analytics for products as they move through production and the supply chain, but as soon as a product is sold, no new insights can be gained. By enabling a product with technology, post-sale consumer-product interactions can be gleaned, furthering our understanding of where, when and how these items continue to be used. The ability to collect post-sale data not only positively impacts the understanding of how existing products are used, but also provides valuable feedback for future design and manufacturing. Additionally, it has the potential to reduce production costs by tracking a product’s end of life, thereby leading to proper recycling practices.
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Currently we live in a world of products that have no meaningful relationship with our online lives. NFC is the technology to catalyze the digital revolution for traditional goods. By embedding this simple chip in a product, consumers are gifted a new digital interaction paradigm with their products, and brands receive new post-sale insights into how products are used and a direct channel to consumers.
In sum, when our dumb objects become smart, everybody wins.
Paul Knight
Chief Product Officer
Blue Bite
[1] An “interaction paradigm” here is to be understood as the way one interacts with a physical good and/or product.
