RFID Initiatives Up Market ForecastsRFID Initiatives Up Market Forecasts

Major initiatives among retailers to use electronic tags to track inventory from warehouses to stores will drive market growth for radio frequency identification technology to 37 percent through 2005 to more than $2 billion, a market research firm said Monday.

Venture Development Corp. had predicted a compound annual growth rate for the industry of 21 percent. However, implementation plans by Wal-Mart, Metro AG and Target, along with the U.S. Department of Defense, has prompted the firm to up the CAGR to 37 percent for RFID software and systems. Total revenue from transponders, readers and software is expected to reach $2.13 billion in 2005, compared to the previous forecast of $1.13 billion, VDC said.