Nordstrom Experiment Highlights Privacy Issue

Last autumn, Nordstrom implemented in-store technology that followed Wi-Fi signals of smartphones and other mobile devices to track customers' movements throughout the store. Much to displeasure of customers.
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By Sam Lewis, associate editor, Integrated Solutions For Retailers

In an effort to emulate the data gained in the realm of online shopping, and improve the in-store shopping experience, brick-and-mortar retailers are testing new technologies to learn about their customers.

Last autumn, Nordstrom implemented in-store technology that followed Wi-Fi signals of smartphones and other mobile devices to track customers' movements throughout the store. This Wi-Fi tracking, combined with the use of video surveillance, allowed Nordstrom to learn information about its customers like sex, age, how many minutes were spent in a particular aisle or department before deciding to buy merchandise, how frequently each shopper visits the store, and various bits of other demographic information. In the online realm of shopping, this demographic information about the shopper is collected automatically in a web browser's cookies. Brick-and-mortar store shoppers generally aren't expecting to have this important, and sometimes security-sensitive information, taken from them through their mobile devices and the apps downloaded on them. Oftentimes, consumers aren't even aware of the personal information required to download and use many mobile apps.

Needless to say, when Nordstrom customers learned about this experiment they were outraged. Most of them felt the testing of this technology without permission was a violation of their privacy. Subsequently, Nordstrom ended this in-store research in May.

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This page contains a single entry by Staff published on August 12, 2013 9:44 AM.

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