RFID: Roadmap for Retail

73% of Best-in-Class Retailers Surveyed Using RFID Are Familiar With the Technology Devoted to Studying Further Business Process Improvement Opportunities

| Source: Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

BOSTON, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 10, 2007 -- Retailers are showing signs of significant maturation in their approach to RFID. While only 6.5% of retailers surveyed are spending money on RFID technology today, twice that have budget allocated toward RFID implementation.

In a new report by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), titled "RFID: Roadmap for Retail," Aberdeen reveals that retailers are dropping mandate-driven RFID initiatives in favor of programs that will address supplier visibility, inventory management and customer service. Thus, the value proposition of RFID to retailers can be segmented into three general areas: 

1.   Item and case-level tagging for improved inventory management
2.   Promotion optimization and loyalty management
3.   Customer-level product information delivery
"Many RFID initiatives suffer because they are perceived as an IT issue. When the retail CEO taps an operations manager with technical skills to be the RFID 'thought leader' for the organization and enlists the collaboration of the IT group, the initiative has a much better chance of succeeding," says Russ Klein, Senior Analyst for Aberdeen Group's Emerging Technology and Data Management practice. "Innovation separates average retailers from the best-in-class. With the cooperation of IT staff and operations managers, an RFID expert can bring double-digit improvement to virtually all areas of retail. RFID adoption in retail is still in its early stages. The well-prepared retailer has an opportunity to lead."

The research, underwritten by ADT Tyco Fire&Security, OATSystems, and Reva, shows readers best practices of RFID applications in retail and ways to justify the investment.

For a free copy of this report, please visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=3949

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Russ Klein Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5244 Russ.klein@aberdeen.com