The linked article above discusses the technology of RetailNext, which provides information to retailers on where people are in the store, their patterns as they shop, what they look at, what they miss, etc. Another company Euclid Analytics offers similar information but uses the Wi-Fi on your phone; even more invasive.
Knowing where customers go in a store and how they shop is great information for retailers to use, but is it too much to take that information and segment price to individual shoppers based on their behaviors and shopping history? What if they used facial recognition software to identify you as you walked in and you received an entirely different experience than someone else? Maybe you even see different prices on certain items based on your history and shopping patterns? Can that individual segmentation be stopped? It would certainly be more profitable for companies to maximize margins on specific items. There is a huge legal concern surrounding this as explained by this excerpt from the article:
"But even if most retailers are shying away from using facial-recognition software to its fullest potential, the chance that some are, without our knowledge, grows greater as the technology becomes more sophisticated and affordable. And because retailers are implementing this type of tracking on their private property, a consumer’s legal rights to privacy are very limited. But privacy advocates say that even if this kind of tracking can’t yet be legally stopped, consumers should at least be made aware of what’s going on. Says Dixon: “I think it’s absolutely crucial for these companies to come clean with the public and disclose what is happening.”
Where do you stand on this issue? Do you want retailers tracking your every move to give you an entirely customized experience? Even if it means sacrificing the best price on certain items? Where do you want the line in the sand to be drawn? A line, that is continually being drawn, erased and drawn again as we continue technological advancement.
So I think the next level of this is though mobile payments. Using technology like iBeacon, stores can pick up who you are and allow you to pay for items via your mobile device. Then with technology like RetailNext in the article they can then connect your in-store path to your end purchase. Brick and Mortar stores like Dick's can "sell" this type of information to brands like Under Armour.
ReplyDeleteThe individual pricing step is probably farther away but no a huge leap from the step above. I think the end game is less about your example of Amazon and more about personalizing an experience for each customer regardless of store layout. It could lead to digital displays of products. For example, rather than walking around the store, you are using magic mirror and that experience is customized based on your history and others like you.