RFID labels to account for more than 85% of smart labels demand in 2014
As the nascent RFID market develops over the next several years, U.S. demand for smart labels is projected to increase more than 11% annually to 8 billion units in 2009. With the advent of item-level RFID tagging on higher-priced items early in the next decade, demand will grow even more sharply to over 50 billion units in 2014. While the fastest increases are expected for RFID labels, interactive packaging labels (including thermochromatic and time-temperature indicator products) will also show strong growth. In contrast, the dominant EAS segment will remain almost stagnant, with demand increases of only 2.2% per year.