Models to address RFID-based ticket-switching in retailing

Abstract

Ticket-switching is the process by which the price information on a relatively expensive item is switched with one from a cheap item. This allows the customer to pay the cheap item price for the expensive item. Evidence suggests that ticket-switching events in retail supply chains may not be rare and therefore need to be addressed. We consider ticket-switching in RFID-based systems and develop four increasingly complex models to address ticket-switching events. These models use readily available information such as that from related database record, tag memory information, and interdependency among tagged items. We illustrate the relative performance of these models through simulation across seven different scenarios. The various models utilize different input information and are appropriate for different considered scenarios. Our results indicate that ticket-switching can be effectively controlled through these model implementations.