Spying on shoppers

WE have become accustomed to retailers recording customers’ movements on security cameras to guard against theft. But the casual use of Big Brother-style spyware covertly tracking our every shopping move is surely an Orwellian step too far.

The aim is to manipulate the behaviour of shoppers to encourage them to spend more. For example pumping the smell of chocolate around a Cadbury’s display or placing ‘cute’ pictures of kittens and puppies at the pet food stand, then monitoring customers’ reactions on highly intrusive CCTV.

The company behind this snooping – the extent of which is exposed in today’s Mail – also has the temerity to place much of the footage on its public YouTube account, with disparaging comments describing shoppers as ‘naive’ and ‘blind’.

Whether this is a violation of the law or not is yet to be established. But it is certainly sinister – and deeply disrespectful.

With the high street in such decline, retailers should cherish their customers – not exploit them in this insidious way.