I get a very interesting news letter from Freshagenda called Horizons. You can join their mail list here
Today this little snippet caught my eye ( pun intended)
Tesco is installing screens at its petrol stations that select ads for display by scanning the eyes of queuing customers.
The OptimEyes screen will rollout out to 450 of its UK petrol stations over five years. The screen scans the eyeballs of queuing customers to determine age and gender, then runs ads accordingly, accounting for the date and time, and monitoring customer purchases.
However, the move sparked fresh concerns from privacy campaigners about the growing use of “invasive” technology in the nation’s shops. Nick Pickles of Big Brother Watch said: “Scanning customers as they walk through the store without customers ever giving permission for them to be scanned in that way … there’s a huge consent issue there.”
What does Freshagenda say
This clever technology would seem to make sense, but shopper’s responses may be so negative that any benefits from targeting are lost. This privacy issue pales when considering how much personal data is held and used by grocers.
What do you think? Are you worried that technology is becoming too invasive?