Retailers want to know who's in their stores, what they look at, how long they stay, which aisles they visit and which marketing techniques are likely to result in buying behaviour.Some retailers are trying to track shoppers throughout the buying decision process, to learn about underlying needs and preferences as well as to improve offerings and service before, during and after the sale.
For example:
- Waitrose is considering using the GPS in a customer's mobile to track the distance to its UK "click and collect" locations. By the time the customer arrives at the Waitrose store, having clicked to order groceries earlier, the sacks will be ready to be picked up, saving time and effort at the end of the buying process.
- A Toronto supermarket installed RFID (radio frequency identification) tags on its trolleys as a test, to where shoppers went in the store, how long they lingered in front of displays and be able to compare actual product purchases to time spent in front of product displays. In the future, the grocery chain might make point-of-sale offers to loyalty customers based on where in the store they are standing.
- American Apparel stores needed to plan staffing for its busiest hours. With cameras mounted above entranceways in US stores, it counted footfall hour by hour and used the data to be sure it had sufficient salespeople available when shoppers were browsing and buying--resulting in higher sales.
- Synqera, in Russia, uses cameras in its checkout areas to analyse shoppers' facial expressions and tailor point-of-sale offers to the mood and behaviour of the moment.
- Some US malls have been tracking shoppers via their mobiles. Reaction is mixed. The marketers want to better understand their shoppers' behaviour. But some shoppers object to this for privacy reasons.
