The new technology, called Project Unlock, combines low-cost RFID chips and IoT sensors to activate power tools at the point of purchase, while also creating a secure, publicly accessible and anonymous record of legitimate purchases on a blockchain.
According to the National Retail Federation, organized retail crime has been on the rise since 2020, costing retailers an average of $700,000 for every $1 billion in sales. Until now, solutions have typically involved locking high-value items, but Lowe's new technology allows the company to throw away its padlocks and shelf doors.
Project Unlock has two interrelated solutions. The first is point-of-sale product activation, where only legally purchased products can be activated. This means that if the power tool is stolen, it will not work. POS activation is supported by an RFID tag, which is embedded in the product by the manufacturer and pre-loaded with a unique serial number for each item. The serial number is also embedded in the box's barcode and the product is set to "inoperable". When the barcode is scanned at the cash register, it is activated for use.
The second part of the solution is a transparent purchase history to help retailers, manufacturers and law enforcement check it. Once a customer has purchased a product, it is recorded in the blockchain. Anyone can then inspect these records, which do not contain personal customer information. For example, a dealer like a marketplace could check the records to make sure they didn't purchase stolen merchandise. To achieve this, a unique NFT is created for each physical product.
Initially, Project Unlock will be deployed in all of Lowe's power tool stores to provide a demonstration of the concept, but a spokesperson for Lowe's said the company "sees the potential to use this invisible blockchain and RFID system for other items in its stores and throughout the retail ecosystem.
