Skip to main content

Home/ MK 473 Fall 2013/ Group items tagged privacy

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
Kate King

Retail Stores Are Tracking You Like Crazy ⚙ Co.Labs ⚙ code + community - 8 views

www.fastcolabs.com/...es-are-tracking-you-like-crazy

mk473 environment 2 technology ethics privacy

shared by Kate King on 16 Sep 13 - No Cached
Sarah Wesp liked it
  • Lina Goens on 16 Sep 13
     
    I like it! I want to be recognized, greeted, and assisted if I need to be. I can see where some people may feel uncomfortable but employees should be trained when to know when a person wants more help or to be left alone.
  • ...7 more comments...
  • rteufel on 16 Sep 13
     
    To me this seems like the next logical step. What as worked extremely well in online stores (I have worked for one for 5 years and we made a considerably large ratio of our revenues with cross selling on product pages), might also work in actual retail stores. It will, however, take time until customers get used to being "spied on". In my opinion they WILL get used to it, the same way everyone got used to facial recognition in facebook, data collection by Google, and customer profiling by Amazon.
  • Kyle Werner on 17 Sep 13
     
    What technology can do in this age and how retailers are using it effectively to further enhance their business ventures is simply astonishing! A possible next step to this if not in the development process already is if the consumer has the mobile app on their phone, the app will be able to tell what products the consumer is looking at and offer suggestions regarding the product. This could even be taken one step further, for example, if a customer is looking at lunch meat at the deli, the app could even suggest what types of condiments or kinds of sides for the lunch meat, and help assist the consumer in where to find these products in the stores. I agree with Raphael, consumers will have to get used to this business strategy, and look at the silver lining of how these tactics can be beneficial to themselves.
  • jkayjohn on 17 Sep 13
     
    I think the biggest problem with this sort of tracking is many people feel entitled to a sense of privacy. Even though in our day in age this sense of privacy does not truly exist. We are tracked by what we do and what sites we visit online everyday so it makes sense that retail stores deserve the same chance, but people I believe will feel even more violated by this sort of tracking in the physical sense if they are not being told about it. I think the best way for retail stores to go about doing this is by actually making the public aware and playing on the benefits of being able to track their customers and give them the best assistance possible. They need to have a market strategy in place that can do all of that.
  • Carly Foley on 17 Sep 13
     
    I don't know whether to be impressed or creeped out. I feel like I would want to turn my phone off any time I would go to the mall because I don't want to be bothered when I'm shopping or anything. I like to go in and get out. I am not big into shopping so I make it as fast as possible, and the fact of someone knowing what stores I am at or what I am looking at is a little weird for me. I like my privacy.
  • John Cummings on 17 Sep 13
     
    I agree with Lina this can upset some people. They may think their privacy has been invaded. But any business person would understand that this is just another marketing ploy.
  • Kara Blakley on 17 Sep 13
     
    This article is really showcasing specifically how almost no aspect of our lives is private anymore. I did a research report a few years ago on the Psychology of Food/Supermarkets and the technology that are utilizing to get our business. The "tracking" in the stores has been utilized by a few companies that send mobile coupons to your phone when you pass by certain items in the store. Not only that, but the technology keeps a record of your purchases and alerts you when you are around those items again. I even read a story of a father finding out his daughter was pregnant when she received Target baby advertisements/coupons in the mail from the child care department. Based on her previous purchases, Target's customer technology knew she was probably having a baby before her own parents did (or before she decided to tell them). From a business standpoint, I understand trying to utilize any technology means possible to get purchases, but the line is fuzzy between being helpful and being intrusive. Finding a balance between the two is something companies need to figure out!
  • Sarah Jacobsma on 17 Sep 13
     
    I agree with Lina and John. I think it is very impressive that companies can use phone tracking to help out customers. In reality how much privacy do we have these days anyways? From a retailer stand point this technology can be very helpful but from a customer standpoint it can be a little creepy. What technology can do amazes me and it will be interesting to see how it effects the way retailers and consumers interact.
  • Emily Prellwitz on 19 Sep 13
     
    I find this kind of stuff extremely interesting. I honestly like that stores can track me like this because this means that they are more likely to send coupons and deals my way for the things I want to buy. I also think this is a great way for stores to get the perfect layout of their store by seeing where certain demographics walk around.
  • Camille Sampson on 19 Sep 13
     
    This is significant because it has implications beyond just marketing to consumers. The question is, how far should we trespass into citizens (aka customers) rights in order to improve the customers experience? This isnt JUST another marketing ploy, it's an experiment in eroding consumer privacy... and it's working. Marketers realize how little consumers are informed of their own behavior and by association they realize lengths to which they can go. But as privacy erodes, what do we really gain? Sure, it's great they can send us coupons and build our customer profile, but did companies consult the consumer and get consent to do this? Is this data collection all passively done because companies know the taboo behind privacy issues? What does this type of intrusion open up in the future? I think this is seen as simply "the way things are" because we are all desensitized to businesses (and governments) violating the privacy of information. I would like to point out that historically when masses of people in power simply accept things the way they are that's when really really bad things happen (slavery, child labor, exploitation, etc). Passive accumulation of this information seems to me complicit with those who actively accumulate this information- they're both invasions. We must critically think about how allowing such invasions actually works to shape the physical and mental landscapes of our lives, are we actually prepared to deal with the consequences? So, while it may seem like this is just another marketing ploy, we instead should see this as actually another breach of private information which will continue to shape consumer behavior.
1 - 1 of 1
Showing 20▼ items per page