In essence, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for retailers is the next progression from RF EAS.
RFID tags exploit the basic properties of Radio Frequency EAS electromagnetic fields but the difference is that the labels have the added facility of memory in the form of a microchip embedded into the label antenna. Using a built-in 128 bit code, this microchip enables wireless identification, by an RFID reader in a specific broadcast area, of inventory or products.
RFID tags/labels can be used to access far more item information than can be encoded into a barcode. So significantly more information can be associated to and travel with an item e.g. colour, place of purchase, date of manufacture, price, warranty expiry date, etc