Tesco’s have revealed that it will be installing facial recognition software in 450 of its petrol station forecourts. This software, displayed as a digital screen, will be located by the checkouts and aims to identify whether individuals in the queue are male or female, takes a rough estimate of how old they are and how long they have been looking at the displayed advertisements. The information gathered is thought to be around 97% correct.
The overall aim of this is to process the details in real time and send the information to advertisers so they can tailor the adverts to appropriate times of day. For instance, coffee could be advertised in the morning and then the ads can switch to other relevant products throughout the day. This software is also advanced enough to monitor who is in the queue and who isn’t. If it detects that the majority is female then the adverts being shown will switch to adverts tailored to women. The same goes if there were mostly men detected.
This technology is being provided by Amscreen, Lord Sugar’s company. The system is called ‘Optimeyes’ which is from a French company known as Quividi. Tesco aims to install this software in their stores as soon as possible.
“This could change the face of British retail and our plans are to expand the screens into as many supermarkets as possible,” he said “Brands deserve to know not just an estimation of how many eyeballs are viewing their targets, but who they are too.”- http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/11/04/tesco-facial-recognition-checkouts-will-change-face-british-retail-says-sugar
This can seem quite alarming, however according to an article in the Telegraph no video footage is actually recorded. Once your face has been scanned for its information you as an individual are erased. So no facial database is stored, only CCTV within the store will record the customers. Until enough data is gathered the screens will only be showing news, traffic reports and weather information.
Tesco has predicted that these machines can reach over 5 million customers weekly. This deal is set to be in place for the next 5 years.
Not everyone agrees with this new system and most do not think it’s safe. Worries have been expressed that this could progress into something worse and more intrusive. Where do companies stop? Is this information always going to be enough for Tesco and other big companies? Where is the line drawn? Let SLA know what you think!
For more information on the Optimeyes system, follow this link: http://www.amscreen.eu/en/optimeyes-audience-measurement-privacy
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