Consumers are very concerned about the use of radio frequency identification tags (RFID) in retailers, according to a new survey.
More than half of the 2,000 people surveyed in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, said they had privacy worries about the tags.
A number of consumers group have, in recent months, expressed fears the tags could be used to monitor shoppers once they had left the shop.
Another concern, for 59 per cent of those surveyed by consultancy Capgemini, was that the tags would allow data to be used more freely by third parties.
Ard Jan Vetham, Capgemini's principal consultant on RFID, said the survey showed retailers needed to inform and educate people about RFID before it could become accepted technology.
“Acceptance of new technologies always has a tipping point at which consumers believe that benefits outweigh concerns.
"With the right RFID approach and ongoing communication with consumers, the industry can reach this point."
Tesco is currently trialling the use of the tags at one of its distribution centre, allowing it to more rapidly track its inventory.
One US consumer group, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (Caspian), has claimed RFID chips could be used to secretly identify people and the things they are carrying or wearing.
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