US retail biggie Walmart Stores Inc. has applied for a patent titled “Retail subscription in internet of things environment”, which describes adding IoT tags to products based on Bluetooth, radio frequency, infrared, NFC, or any other technology.
The tag would monitor product usage, and automatically order refills/replacements when needed. The tags could also track expiration dates and product recalls. The move is reportedly aimed to compete with Amazon Dash, the Wi-Fi connected, one-button ordering device of Amazon.com. The patent application was originally filed in October last year.
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This would be the first of Walmart’s more than 800 patents and applications to focus on Internet of Things (IoT) and branches into shoppers’ homes, CB Insights said.
