AI in Your Aisles - Are We Trading Privacy For Convenience?
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How many times in the last couple of months have you downloaded the latest AI hype tool? Signing away your data, uploading photos of your face, or your dog, or your child?
But how would you feel if you knew that Amazon owned the technology tracking your every move? Or if Apple was the silent observer? These are not hypothetical questions.
As we plunge into a new era of retail technology marked by virtual AR try-ons, colour matching makeup technology, and checkout-free shopping, we are also entering uncharted territory when it comes to our personal data.
Will the convenience of these advancements outweigh the potential privacy issues they raise, or are we blindly sprinting into a dystopian world of surveillance capitalism?
What AR you expecting?
In my recent piece, "AUGMENTED RETAIL – WILL IT BRING THE STORE TO YOUR DOOR?", I explored how AR tech is offering a novel way for highly digitised brands to extend a brick-and-mortar experience to the customer's home.
Such innovations, while alluring in their promise of speed and convenience, have a flip side – the question of data privacy.
Every 'grab 'n go' shopping trip, every AR-enabled navigation app, every targeted suggestion... all contribute to an increasingly detailed profile of your shopping habits and preferences.
Even Lucas Matney, writing for Tech Crunch in 2021, noted that 'Augmented reality’s awkward phase will be long and painful.'
Why? Well, consumer behaviour won’t change overnight.
But also - the move away from traditional shopping practices towards such a tech-heavy landscape involves a surrender of privacy, a reality we are just beginning to grapple with.
Can't find the eggs? Follow this map to Aisle 3.
Last year, M&S launched an in-store navigation app. It uses AR to guide customers to items in the store. Think Google Maps, on a much smaller scale (in fact, Google modelled some proprietary indoor navigation tech back in 2011).
These indoor positioning systems (IPS) can simplify store navigation and offer new potentials for customer interaction.
Using hardware like Visual Markers, Bluetooth beacons, Wi-Fi RTT, or Ultra-wideband (UWB), these systems can help customers locate items within stores, and offer targeted product suggestions based on their location.
Beyond navigation, IPS can also generate valuable data on customer traffic and item locations. This information can then guide business decisions, from product placement to negotiations with vendors.
The M&S trial may have been technologically impressive, but it also begs the question: are we truly ready for a shopping experience that's tracked, analysed, and stored for future use?
Have we adequately considered the implications for data privacy? What happens when the commercial interest in detailed consumer profiles outweighs respect for privacy?
Grab and Go (Off with my Data)
A really key case study, I think, is the rise in "checkout-free" technology such as Amazon Go and EasyOut from Trigo.
These solutions are more than just marvels of computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning – they represent a step closer to a world where our every move is monitored, recorded, and commodified.
Tom Simmons, previously Product Manager at GetGo, said in a LinkedIn post, dated 16th February: “Exciting day yesterday as we switched GetGo on at Aston University Express in Birmingham.”
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“We're delighted to take GetGo to a new part of the country as this is our first store outside of London/South East. Lots of positive feedback on day one, looking forward to hearing more from our customers over the coming weeks/months.”
The benefits to the consumer are obvious – ease, convenience, simplicity. But take note - our convenience is someone else's data goldmine. This information is a glimpse into customers' minds, aiding informed, profitable decisions.
But, there's a catch - retailers must get the supply-demand matching right and carefully roll out these technologies. Otherwise, they risk a disjointed tech landscape that falls short of expectations. It's not just about the tech, but its integration and management.
Legacy complexity as the ultimate roadblock
Looking into the future of retail technology, one thing stands out - it's complicated. In just a decade, retail has transformed. Retailers are expanding service offerings to include buy online pick up in store (BOPIS) services, same-day delivery, and of course, online shopping.
This modern retail ecosystem generates a substantial volume of data. Point of Sale (PoS) systems of 2023 need to effectively synchronise inventory across channels, manage promotions, and process transactions, be they in-store or online.
Retailers are also contending with an evolving payments marketplace. Digital payment methods such as 'buy now pay later', QR code payments, virtual payments like Google Pay and Apple Pay, and even cryptocurrency all come with their own set of data that stores need to protect. This adds to the intricate task of protecting customer information.
So, stores often turn to pre-made solutions from more established providers, like Amazon or Trigo. Although using a 3rd Party offers out-of-the-box stability and the reliability of a legacy brand, it also expands your attack surface for data breaches.
This isn’t something to be overlooked. I really think that maintaining trust is just as key to the future of retail, as is streamlining the experience.
So, what's next for the shop floor?
Unpopular opinion, maybe, but I think it's vital we look beyond the glitter and pomp of shiny new technologies.
In the race to out-innovate, transparency and accountability must remain the industry's guiding principles. It goes beyond just adhering to data protection norms - it's about earning and retaining trust.
As retail technologists, it's your duty to strike a balance - one that aligns innovation with ethics, ensuring retail technology of tomorrow is as considerate as it is potent.
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