Heat Maps in the Mall Identify Hot Items

choi

Elizabeth Dwoskin and Greg Bensinger, Hot New Thing at the Mall: Heat Maps Track Shoppers. Wall Street Journal, Dec 9, 2013
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303332904579230401030827722
(“Sunhee Moon, owner of a San Francisco boutique with the same name, says she recently moved holiday scarves to a table near the back of the store after tracking data showed—to her surprise—that customers linger longest at displays located far from the entrance”)

Excerpt in the window of print: To some people, the spread of tracking technology raises concerns about shoppers’ privacy.

My comment: No need to read the rest. View the photo. Privacy is never is a concern. It is just a heat map, perhaps generated by infrared. Incidentally, if shopper gravitate toward certain items, I am sure it will be reflected on sales of those items. This makes me wonder if heat maps are necessary.