Tesco is trialing new technology that will scan customer’s faces at petrol stations to sell targeted adverts shown on screens near the till. Watch this video from BBC click explaining how the technology works below: For example, ads for Red Bull could run in the rush hour with ads for women’s magazines timed for after […]
Tesco is trialing new technology that will scan customer’s faces at petrol stations to sell targeted adverts shown on screens near the till.
Watch this video from BBC click explaining how the technology works below:
For example, ads for Red Bull could run in the rush hour with ads for women’s magazines timed for after the morning school run.
The technology, made by Lord Sugar’s digital signage company Amscreen, will use a camera to identify a customer’s gender and approximate age. It will then show an advertisement tailored to that demographic.
The ‘OptimEyes’ system will be rolled out into 450 Tesco petrol forecourts, which serve millions of customers a week.
It works by using inbuilt cameras in a TV-style screen above the till that identify whether a customer is male or female, estimate their age and judge how long they look at the ad.
The ‘real time’ data is fed back to advertisers to give them a better idea of the effectiveness of their campaigns and enable them to tailor ads to certain times of the day.
Speaking to retail trade magazine The Grocer, Simon Sugar, Lord Sugar’s son and Amscreen chief executive, said: “Yes it’s like something out of Minority Report, but this could change the face of British retail and our plans are to expand the screens into as many supermarkets as possible. We’re extremely excited to call Tesco a screen network partner.”
He insisted the OptimEyes technology, developed in conjunction with a face detection software specialist, does not store images or recognise people, and instead simply “works out gender and sorts customers into one of three age brackets”.
But privacy campaigners last night said the explosion in personal data collection was threatening to spiral out of control.
A Tesco spokeswoman said: “This is not new technology. No data or images are collected or stored and the system does not use eyeball scanners or facial-recognition technology”, she added.
The length of someone’s hair could be used to work out their gender, she said.
The screens are expected to reach five million customers.
Watch this promotions video from Amscreen (the company behind the technology) here:
Analysis- could it go wrong?
Commenting on the move, Paul Alexander, co-founder of Beyond Analysis, said there is potential for embarrassment being caused to the customers if the technology goes wrong.
“Tesco’s plan to use face scanners to target advertising at customers certainly comes as a surprise. While tailoring advertising to each customer is a great idea, there are far better ways of doing this than using a face scanner at a till. Retailers need to make informed decisions about an individual customer’s needs, and this should extend further than categorising somebody by their age and gender – there’s so much more to each customer’s needs than this.
“There is also potential for disaster if and when the scanners’ estimations are wide of the mark. Starbucks came in for some flack when customers’ names were written inaccurately on cups, and Tesco is putting itself in a position to offend people even more. Imagine a portly gentleman being shown adverts targeted at pregnant women, or a short-haired woman being targeted with shaving products for young men.
“What supermarkets should be doing is using information about the customer to provide a more compelling and intuitive service that engages them on a personal level. A good first step for organisations is to analyse customers’ purchasing trends. Large retailers like Tesco should focus on where and what customers are choosing to spend their money on. Organisations can tailor every interaction (whether online, in-store or over the telephone) so that customer satisfaction is always exceeded, and that opportunities to increase sales are increased.
“Using more effective tools than an advanced face scanner will allow Tesco to better understand customers. For businesses that put customers first, they can also expect to better manage risk, cut costs, satisfy escalating consumer expectations, drive decision making and maintain a high level of business integrity. Although customer research can be time consuming, it will result in great profits for a company if done so correctly.
“In today’s tough climate where fickle customers shop for the best prices and promotions, the most successful businesses will be those that understand their customers’ needs, how they want to shop and even how much they are willing to pay.”
