...did you know that brick-and-mortar stores are also tracking how you shop?
How long customers linger, what catches their eye and whether or not they return purchased items can be tracked through their smartphones, The New York Times reported this week.
Here's how it works: When cell phones search for a Wi-Fi signal, they send out information about the smartphone's owner to those Wi-Fi networks. A software analytics firm snatches that data and analyzes it. The information isn't personal, and no information or Internet search history is shared.
"It can tell us how many customers are passing by our stores compared to how many customers are actually coming in," Jaber said.
Euclid refuses to reveal client names, but will say that 30 national retailers use its software. Not all retailers are aiming for secrecy, however: The New York Times reported that Nordstrom posted a sign telling shoppers they were being tracked. Q13Fox.com in Seattle reported that the clothing retailer stopped collecting data on customers in May after several complaints.
RetailNext...also relies on video cameras with facial recognition software.
But for some customers, like Michael Slade of San Francisco, this raises privacy concerns.
"I don't like the feeling that I'm being tracked at all," he said.
To Slade and others uneasy knowing that an invisible software firm is sucking information out of your smartphone, the solution is simple: Turn off the Wi-Fi function on your phone before heading out.
