The Aisles Have Eyes by Joseph Turow is an eye opening look at just how closely shoppers are watched both in-store and online.  The book begins with a description of how advertising began and how it has evolved over the years.  Mr. Turow discusses how stores such as Wal-Mart and Amazon have changed the way we shop.  As time has progressed stores (both online and brick & mortar) track individual shoppers gathering as much information as possible. Offers and incentives are tailored to each individual shopper based on his/her value to the company.  Smartphones are used to track shoppers as they walk through the stores.  The amount of information being gathered is a bit surprising.  Before I read the book I found the idea of a body implant to gauge shoppers' reactions to products absurd.  After reading the book, I can believe it is possible.

I been reviewing two new books which deal with the collection and application of data. The first is THE AISLES HAVE EYES by Joseph Turow, University of Pennsylvania professor and associate dean.  Turow is pursuing a very interesting topic as his discussion of the reshaping of retail explores the tension between Americans being willing to give up personal data in favor of discounts OR being "resigned to the idea of surveillance."  

Turow's subtitle is "How Retailers Track Your Shopping, Strip Your Privacy, and Define Your Power" and he provides numerous examples in a retailing context, although it was sometimes difficult to stay engaged with his argument. At one point, I thought of the way parents used to avoid giving actual birthdates to restaurant chains like Farrell's Ice Cream when those records were ultimately used by the government to pursue registrants for the selective service draft. The current potential for social discrimination and other misuse is noted as well as the ways in which our preferences are recorded and tracked by smartphones, fitbits and tablets. Turow compares the seeming unconcern with increased observation to a frog eventually boiling as water temperature is very slowly increased. He explains that tracking through other wearables and facial recognition (Face-Six, Emotient, FaceFirst are some of the companies involved) are coming quickly. Turow suggests a few actions, but seems more intent on raising an alarm rather than proposing detailed solutions. THE AISLES HAVE EYES has an index and extensive notes although a full bibliography would be helpful, too.

The Aisles Have Eyes: How Retailers Track Your Shopping, Strip Your Privacy, and Define Your Power by Joseph Turow is very highly recommended.

It should be no surprise to consumers today how our purchases and interests are being tracked. What may surprise you is the extent of that tracking and the potential information the retail stores can and are gathering. Turow explains how retail stores are entering a new, hypercompetitive era with internet sellers. The brick-and-mortar stores will succeed only if they figure out how to trace, quantify, profile, and discriminate among shoppers. Stores now have the ability to track our movements and capture data about us through what we carry - our smart phones, bluetooth devices, fitbits, tablets, etc. If you have the GPS on your smart phone turned on, chances are you are also being tracked. The goal is to track our movements and what we buy, and then score our attractiveness as consumers based on that information. I would imagine almost all of us have noticed the personalized discounts often linked to our store rewards cards.

After providing background information on the history of retail stores, Turow moves into the advances in recent years, such as online stores like Amazon, and the emergence of Wal-Mart, a store with a super-efficient ability to send merchandise to stores for the continuous ability to restock items quickly. Even though these two retail giants can be much abased by some camps, they are the future of retail stores where the goal is now to find your niche or a way to stay competitive, thus profiling customers, collecting data, tracking their movements, and maybe even using facial recognition software to collect information about each individual who shops at your store. Think about this bit of information: "Acxiom executive Phil Mui claimed that 'for every consumer we have more than 5,000 attributes of customer data.'" The ultimate question is how much of this will consumers put up with this invasion of privacy and profiling of each customer before they decide enough is enough.

As Turow provides the background information and the extent that the retail community is using current technology to track us and get us to buy products by personalizing coupons or discounts.  This is a well-written, thoroughly researched, accessible account of the future of shopping and provides startling insights about the prevalence of data collecting on individual consumers. The text includes extensive notes and an index.

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/on1/14/17
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1873786311
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For many, this book may be a bit of a shocking eye-opener, and even for those who know a bit about it, it may still deliver a lot of data to push into your brain! The subject? How retail stores are tracking you and your shopping activities and how your privacy and even power as a sometimes-informed consumer can be at threat if unchecked.

Of course, there can be benefits for the consumer of an intelligent, data-driven shopping experience, yet many believe that the scales of equality are presently tipped to the retailer’s favour. This is still by no means a mature subject either, so there will be plenty of change or “innovation” in the future that can, perhaps, further create concerns for the consumer if the power dynamic is not held in check.

The ability for predominantly larger businesses to track their retail customers is here today. In many ways, it is no different to the pervasive Internet advertising and usage tracking that is available today. Very few websites fail to gather intelligence and user activity information, even if it is just basic Google Analytics data. Some, however, are very enthusiastic with tracking your activities – some sites can have a dozen or more different tracking beacons installed and you just know how some advertisements follow you around and how certain items you’ve searched for appear in tailored-advertisements from certain online retailers.

You can imagine this is also happening when you physically visit a big-box store. Whether it is more innocuous activities such as measuring foot traffic to a certain department or trying to figure out how an individual customer goes around the store, it can soon ramp up to tracking each and every purchase, or possible purchase interaction, remembering it both now and in the future. You may think it is harmless, but when the computer tries to intelligently “help” and identifies your shopping activities and, for example, says you are probably pregnant and sends you coupons in the mail that get accidentally seen by a family member who doesn’t yet know, or care for, your news…

Some experts forecast that within a decade or two body implants may even be commonplace, letting retailers interact with us and learn our interests and intentions. No doubt there are many enhancements under development to aid both retailer and consumer alike. With data collection and use comes responsibility. Would you necessarily care for all your private shopping information to be common knowledge? What if a health insurer decided to cut your cover because they note higher-than-accepted consumption of alcohol or sugary products? How would they also know whether you purchased things for private consumption or a big family party? Heaven help you if you regularly collect large amounts of soft drinks and sticky buns on behalf of your office!

This is not a “sky is falling” book or some hype-filled rant about how big business is taking over our minds and bodies. It is a considered, informative and cautious look at the power of the technologies available today, as well as considering the scope for abuse and other areas of concern. It should hopefully inspire retailers to make greater, informed use of such technologies to benefit their customers and the company-at-large whilst using the information gathered in a way that does not prejudice the consumer’s interest. The consumer should also feel comforted by this usage.

It was a highly enjoyable, informative read. One hopes that the excesses can be controlled and contained without misuse otherwise spoiling a potentially beneficial relationship of consumer and corporate benefit. It is definitely a book worthy of consideration, no matter which side of the divide you stand. Do not be afraid of the future, as long as the future is well-managed.

The Aisles Have Eyes, written by Joseph Turow and published by Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300212198. YYYYY