零售商已經(jīng)盯上你了
????幾乎每個(gè)人都體會(huì)過(guò)一家公司對(duì)你錢(qián)包的挖掘深度超出你意愿時(shí)的那種被人侵犯的感覺(jué)。但新技術(shù)正在允許實(shí)體零售商以前所未有的方式入侵顧客的牛仔褲以搜尋個(gè)人信息。 ????零售商現(xiàn)已掌握了追蹤顧客手機(jī)的能力,從而能夠以前所未有的方式獲取顧客的購(gòu)物習(xí)慣:從一位顧客造訪一家店鋪的頻率,到他在一個(gè)櫥窗展示站多久后才決定是否要進(jìn)入店鋪。 ????這種數(shù)據(jù)也為商家提供了一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì),借此與顧客攜手制定一套讓每個(gè)人都受益的規(guī)則。但企業(yè)似乎只滿足于盜取數(shù)據(jù)這一行為本身,這不僅對(duì)它們的聲譽(yù)造成了威脅,還會(huì)危及顧客的個(gè)人信息安全。 ????《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》(New York Times)最近一篇文章報(bào)道稱,一些商店正在使用Wi-Fi網(wǎng)絡(luò)來(lái)跟蹤顧客,甚至當(dāng)這些顧客并不在商店網(wǎng)絡(luò)覆蓋范圍的時(shí)候繼續(xù)監(jiān)控。為這種窺探行為辯解的一個(gè)常見(jiàn)說(shuō)辭是,人們應(yīng)該想到他們會(huì)收到監(jiān)視。 ????上個(gè)月在黑帽(Black Hat)網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全會(huì)議遭受詰問(wèn)后,國(guó)家安全局(NSA)局長(zhǎng)基思?亞歷山大切身領(lǐng)悟到,這種信念毫無(wú)根據(jù)。高檔零售商諾德斯特龍公司(Nordstrom )在店內(nèi)貼出告示,告知顧客他們正在被跟蹤之后,這家連鎖店也從不滿意的顧客那里獲得了這個(gè)訊息。正如《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》所報(bào)道的那樣,諾德斯特龍公司于五月份終止了它的跟蹤系統(tǒng),部分原因是顧客對(duì)這種做法不滿。 ????目前尚無(wú)可靠的資料顯示,究竟有多少家商店正在跟蹤顧客。但根據(jù)為Nomi和Euclid等零售商提供這些技術(shù)的公司的成長(zhǎng)情況來(lái)判斷,從小咖啡館到全國(guó)連鎖店,這種行為廣泛存在于各類商家之中。 ????但零售商正在以錯(cuò)誤的方式從事這項(xiàng)工作?!斑@是下一代顧客終身價(jià)值管理體系,”賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)沃頓商學(xué)院(Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷學(xué)教授、沃頓顧客行為分析中心(Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative)聯(lián)席主任埃里克?布萊特勞說(shuō)?!皬念櫩偷慕嵌葋?lái)看,這樣做有許多積極面,比如量身定制的交易。” ????布萊特勞表示,從員工觀察顧客,到攝影機(jī)審視顧客對(duì)展覽商品的反應(yīng),監(jiān)測(cè)客戶這種行為已經(jīng)持續(xù)了數(shù)十年。但深入人們的口袋內(nèi)提取信息還是一個(gè)新的前沿。 ????布萊特勞主張零售商采取完全透明的跟蹤方式,同時(shí)認(rèn)為這種戰(zhàn)略有助于加強(qiáng)顧客和商家之間的關(guān)系。畢竟,追蹤的目標(biāo)就是采用顧客希望的方式為他們提供更多受其青睞的商品,從而改善購(gòu)物體驗(yàn)。通過(guò)讓客戶知道他們正在被跟蹤,同時(shí)提供一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的退出方式,這些商家可以消除一種類似于斯諾登泄露事件帶來(lái)的嚴(yán)重后果的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。 ????不幸的是,企業(yè)獲取信息的便捷性和這類信息的價(jià)值使得透明度不可能成為普遍的做法。諾德斯特龍公司的經(jīng)驗(yàn)或許會(huì)成為一個(gè)警示,即零售商應(yīng)該保持沉默,繼續(xù)偷偷摸摸地竊取信息。 |
????Just about everyone knows that feeling of violation when a company digs deeper into your pocket than you want, but new technology is allowing brick-and-mortar stores to invade their shoppers' Levis for personal information like never before. ????With the ability to track customer cell phones, retailers have unprecedented access to shoppers' habits, from how frequently a customer visits a store to how long he stands at a window display before deciding whether or not to enter the shop. ????Such data also offers an opportunity for merchants to work with their shoppers on writing a rulebook so that everyone can benefit, but businesses seem content with the five-finger discount, which poses a threat not only to their reputations, but also to the security of customers' personal information. ????A recent article in the New York Times revealed how stores can use Wi-Fi networks to track customers, even when those customers aren't on the store's network. A common argument to justify this prying is that, in an age of oversharing, people expect to be monitored. ????NSA director Keith Alexander learned just how unfounded this belief is after he was heckled last month at the Black Hat cyber security conference. Upscale retailer Nordstrom (JWN) also got the message from unhappy customers after the chain posted signs in its stores letting customers know that they were being tracked. As the Times reported, Nordstrom ended its tracking program in May, in part due to customer displeasure with the practice. ????There is no reliable information on how many stores are tracking customers, but based on the growth of companies that offer these technologies to retailers, like Nomi and Euclid, the practice is becoming widespread in all manner of business, from tiny coffee shops to national chains. ????Retailers are going about this the wrong way, though. "This is the next generation of customer lifetime value management," says Eric Bradlow, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the co-director of the Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative. "There's lots of positive from the customer perspective, such as tailored deals." ????Customer monitoring has been going on for decades, from employees watching people to cameras examining customer reactions to displays, Bradlow says. But delving into people's pockets to extract information is a new frontier. ????Bradlow advocates total transparency by retailers and believes that such a strategy can strengthen the relationship between the customer and the merchant. After all, the goal of tracking is to improve the shopping experience by providing customers with more of what they want in the ways that they want it. By letting customers know that they are being tracked, and offering a simple way to opt out, these businesses eliminate the risk of a backlash following a Snowden-style leak, or worse. ????Unfortunately, the ease with which companies can poach information and the value of that information make it unlikely that transparency will become common practice. Nordstrom's experience will probably serve as a cautionary tale that retailers should keep their mouths shut and keep stealing. |