A patent filing by Wal-Mart reveals that the retailer could be developing an IoT-based device that tracks how shoppers use products in their homes and then electronically reorders merchandise.
The retailer’s proposed device relies on IoT tags, said Chain Storage Age, which could be comprised of Bluetooth, RFID, infrared, or NFC, among other technology options. Besides monitoring product usage, this smart tag would be programmed to automatically re-order merchandise, as well as track expiration dates and product recalls, according to the patent filing, called “Retail subscription in Internet of Things environment.”