Liquids, metals, and small items can pose challenges to RFID performance. Discover how inlay design, smart placement, and real-world testing can enable highly reliable tagging and scalable success in complex retail categories.

As RFID adoption continues to grow rapidly in the retail sector, the next generation of RFID product tagging presents new challenges. After successfully implementing RFID technology in the apparel and general merchandise areas, retailers are now turning their attention to categories such as cosmetics, personal care products, cleaning supplies, and other consumer packaged goods (CPGs).

These products often share a common characteristic: they are more difficult to tag.

Liquids, metals, and small form factors can all impact the RFID read performance. Simply selecting a compatible RFID inlay is not enough to successfully tag these products; a well-thought-out, application-specific approach is required.

Products can be difficult to tag if their materials, contents, or size interfere with RF performance:

• Liquids (e.g., beverages and personal care products) can absorb RF energy, thereby impairing readability
• Metals (e.g., cans and foil packaging) can reflect signals and cause antenna detuning
• Small items (e.g., cosmetics and accessories) limit the available space for antenna design

As these categories become more common in retail, it is essential to identify the needs and address these challenges for scalable RFID deployment.

Different product types require different tagging strategies because there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

General Merchandise: Standard inlays optimized for cardboard, plastic, and mixed materials.

Small Items: Compact inlays that balance size constraints with reading performance.

The Tageos EOS-360 U9 inlay combines a slim layout with superior performance on cardboard, plastic, and rubber surfaces thanks to its advanced antenna design. With an antenna size of just 64 mm x 4 mm and ARC Spec C2 certification, the RAIN RFID inlay is ideal for cosmetics and other small products.

For similar uses, the EOS-271 U9 inlay combines very compact antenna dimensions of just 46 mm x 9 mm and ARC Spec C2 certification. It is an extremely versatile product for many item-level applications in non-food retail, such as cosmetics, DIY & sporting goods, and toys, as well as in supply chain management.

Liquids and Bottles: Special designs that work reliably, even when liquids could interfere with signals. Often combined with optimized placement strategies for best results.

Specially designed for use on bottle caps, the EOS-233 M830 has a diameter of just 30 mm and is the industry’s first RAIN RFID inlay to meet ARC Spec B2.

Metal-adjacent Products: Inlays and placements that minimize interference from reflective surfaces.

The EOS-232 M830 flag tag leverages a unique electrical coupling technique to ensure reliable RFID performance on metallized surfaces and other challenging packaging materials.

With currently more than 120 Tageos products categorized for use in non-apparel retail, there is a wide variety of designs to ensure high performance at scale.

As RFID technology expands into more and more complex product categories, success depends on moving beyond generic approaches.

A robust strategy includes:

• Use of a wide range of inlays tailored to match specific use cases
• Adaptation of designs to specific product requirements
• Consideration of placement and packaging early in the process
• Testing performance in real-world conditions

RFID performance is not determined by the inlay alone. Placement also plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of the overall solution.
Best practices include:

• Positioning tags away from high-interference areas, such as dense liquids or metal surfaces
• Leveraging consistent locations, such as packaging surfaces or bottle caps
• Avoiding placements that could be obscured during storage or on the shelf

In some cases, the most effective solutions combine inlay design with predefined placement strategies to ensure consistent performance across all product variants.

How the inlay is integrated into the product is equally important to the selection of the inlay itself.

• Integrated packaging (embedded inlays) offers consistency, durability, and scalability
• Adhesive labels offer flexibility for retrofitting existing packaging

The right format depends on production processes, packaging design, and operational requirements.

Laboratory performance alone is not enough. Reliable RFID implementation depends on the performance of inlays and tags and how they perform on actual products, including packaging, and in real world operating environments. Testing directly on finished goods is critical.

• Determining the optimal placement for consistent readability
• Confirming consistent read performance across different orientations and handling scenarios
• Ensuring repeatable results across production volumes and SKU variants

Early and thorough validation reduces deployment risk, prevents downstream issues, and ensures consistent tag performance from manufacturing to the retail shelf.

Hard-to-tag products represent the next frontier of retail RFID. Brands and suppliers can meet retailers’ requirements and fully leverage the benefits of item-level visibility across their entire operations by addressing these challenges today.

The right combination of inlay design, application expertise, and scalable solutions can reliably tag even the most challenging products.

Our sales team is always happy to assist you with your inlay requirements for hard-to-tag items.