Near-field communication (NFC) technology allows two devices to communicate wirelessly. NFC tags facilitate two-way communication and work in close proximity enabling a multitude of use cases. Notably, all modern devices come with NFC readers built-in, as NFC technology is the same technology used for mobile wallet payments. This begs the question: how can NFC tags enhance customer experiences?
Key Use Cases
Among the plethora of use cases for NFC tags, opportunities are emerging to leverage tags as a means to offer an elevated product to your end consumer:
Turning physical goods into digital gateways
- A musical artist can boost merch and vinyl sales by chipping products with never before seen video or unreleased music
- A toy can come chipped with a digital gaming experience that is tied to the specific toy that was purchased
- A product can come with detailed information about its origins and production. This can be as interactive as the creator imagines, but serves to tell a story and align with the values of target consumers
Making membership fun
- Membership access can be linked to any asset, weather it be a card or a piece of clothing
- Track redemptions and use of membership in real time from a chipped asset
- Drive value back to the physical item by incentivising use of the item for rewards
Unspoofable Authentication
- Confirm authenticity of any product
- Display critical product information such as year produced, collection, and origin right from the product itself
- Authentication is encrypted and cannot be falsified making it the most effective approach to differentiate from fakes
Who can help me get started?
NFC tags are flexible tools that can be used for just about anything. Finding the right partner to help you forge your strategy and narrow in on appropriate features is essential. We recommend two players in the space that serve the market in different ways:
No Supply
- Custom, bespoke solutions focusing on authenticity and immersive digital experiences
- Digital experiences can be wholly owned and hosted by you, but No Supply will encode the tags on your behalf
- Offerings go beyond tags to help with sourcing products and building out merchandise revenue streams
IYK
- Fantastic self-service platform
- Growing off-the-shelf feature set (little to no code necessary)
- Order tags and load them with what you want
Bottom Line
No matter who you work with, NFC tags are a gateway to the next level of physical products and customer experiences. If you need help building out your digital strategy, NiftyLabs is just a phone call away!