Item level tagging is happening fast -- faster than most people realize.

It was not so long ago that most analysts and industry insiders were suggesting item-level tagging was years away. Well, it seems the tide has turned. Item level tagging is on the rise, according to a recent study by IDTechEx:

Item level tagging refers to the tagging of the smallest taggable unit of things. It is happening faster than most realize - 200 million tags will be used in 2006 for item level tagging alone - mainly apparel, books and drugs to name a few applications. From 2007 it will be the world's largest RFID market by value, rising to a value of $11 billion for tags and all systems of a $26 billion RFID market in 2016.

Do check out the full article -- it has an interesting table with worldwide volumes in item-level tagging, by category.

Interestingly, we typically speak of item level tagging in a retail context. However, according to IDTechEx's report, retail constitutes only a part of the item level tagging. Item level tagging is being used in a wide variety of different contexts: pharmaceutical pedigrees, ticketing, identity documents, livestock, libraries.

RFID tags are coming to an article near you -- if they are not already there. Sounds like we are getting closer to the Internet of Things, everyday.