Consumers know about RFID - and they're scared

RFID may be in the tentative stages of adoption in the business world but it seems consumers are fast coming up to speed on the technology.

According to the quarterly RFID Consumer Buzz survey from BigResearch, around one in four US adults are aware of what the tracking technology is and can explain it to their peers.

The survey also found that people were afraid of the technology, with two-thirds of who were aware of RFID saying they had fears the chips would lead to privacy abuses.

The survey also found that the majority of those who knew about the technology found about it through the internet rather than more traditional news outlets, which BigResearch attributes to a more comprehensive coverage of the issues on the web.

With consumers now getting more of a handle on the issues, analyst house Gartner has now warned businesses that searching for the price point dream isn't the right strategy.

Analysts and businesspeople alike have been predicting that once the price of the RFID chips themselves hits five cents - currently, they cost around 40 cents - the tracking technology will really take off and retailers will start their own large scale rollouts.

Gartner research VP Stephen Smith said that looking for the business benefits and not shaving a few cents off the price of the tags should be the reason to green-light an RFID project.

"Rather than ask at what price does RFID become effective, retailers should identify if a specific business case exists for the technology in their business based on today's price," he said in a statement.