1)Mannequin spying-Retailers place a small camera in the eye of a store mannequin to spy on consumers.
They do this because it helps them to personalize their offers as growth slows.
They help brands know their customers better and also give insight into what men/women want to purchase.
2)RFID TAGS(Radio Frequency Identification Chip)-A wireless use of electromagnetic fields
to transfer data, for purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects.
A RFID tag gives a retailer great visibility to know where a product is.
Inventories are getting done in less time and with more accuracy.
3)Cell Phone Tracking By Malls-This is done by following Wi-Fi signals from their smartphones.
The reason Retailers do this is to learn more about customers shopping habits.
It also helps them come up with new ideas like changing store layouts, and offering store coupons.
Now of course many say including privacy groups that this type of retail spying is walking a thin line with invasion of privacy. It also could raise some legal and ethical issues and it can appear a little too creepy.
References
Bionic
Mannequins Spy on Shoppers to Boost Luxury Sales
By
Andrew Roberts Nov 21, 2012
The
Wall Street Journal
Zara Builds Its Business Around RFID
'Fast Fashion' Meets Smarter Inventory;
Retailer Learns From Others' Mistakes
By
Christopher Bjork
The New York Times
Attention, Shoppers: Store Is Tracking
Your Cell
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD and QUENTIN HARDY
Published: July 14, 2013
