How Can I Monitor Mall Customers?

Published: February 11, 2010

Where can I find advice (consulting and/or an established business) on RFID technology applied to Web and marketing solutions? I’m looking to develop a service for tracking consumer behavior within my own mall.

—Name withheld

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I am unaware of any company that has done work specifically on tracking consumer behavior in stores or malls. There is a privacy issue with regard to tracking consumer behavior, and one must be careful never to infringe on shoppers’ privacy. That means consumers need to be able opt in to allow their movements to be monitored—and you need not to track them if they do not do so. I would also recommend not linking personally identifiable information to an individual. So you would know what people are doing, but not what a specific person is doing.

Lygase Consulting is working with us to track visitor behavior in our exhibit hall at RFID Journal LIVE! 2010, instead of using a conventional lead-retrieval system. That might be a good company to begin with. Other systems integrators familiar with both passive and active RFID technologies might also be able to help.

—Mark Roberti, Editor, RFID Journal