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Tomorrow's Cities: Are Your Shoes Giving Away Data?

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday March 26 2017, @06:05AM   
from the extrovert-v.-introvert dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Shops and retailers are taking over where street cameras left off, watching shoppers' every move.

According to a 2015 survey of 150 retail executives from IT services firm Computer Services Corporation, a quarter of all British shops and 59% of fashion retailers use facial recognition software. Such technology is vital as offline stores attempt to keep up with online retailers, said Duncan Mann, chief operating officer at retail analysis firm Hoxton Analytics. "Online retailers gather all kinds of information about shoppers and physical stores also want to understand how people behave in a shop," he said. But, he admits: "A lot of these technologies are kind of invasive."

Hoxton has come up with a novel way of measuring footfall - literally by filming people's shoes. Sherlock Holmes-like, its system can deduce a remarkable amount of information such as age, gender and social class of shoppers from their footwear. "We have cameras at about 50cm off the ground and it points down so it is less invasive than facial recognition," he explains. It is surprisingly accurate. It spots the correct gender 80% of the time, better than some facial recognition technologies, according to Mr Mann.

Looks like this tech will arrive just after Amazon has put them all out of business.

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Original Submission

• tips for getting the best price in shoe shopstips for getting the best price in shoe shops (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 26 2017, @07:28AM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 26 2017, @07:28AM (#484289)

  1 leave smartphone home
  2 take ID with you because without smartphone you are likely to be considered a pedoterrorist thief and I wonder whether they are already scanning people that don't emit stuff in the cellphone range
  3 wear oldest pair of serious shoes you have with ugliest pants, remove all polish in advance, bonus for getting some dust by walking on gravel.
  4 remember to walk with small uncertain steps like an elder would
  5 ???
  6 PROFIT!!!

  I mean, unless the shop features digital price tags, in that case above is good advice.

• Re:tips for getting the best price in shoe shops(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Sunday March 26 2017, @07:43AM

  by c0lo (156) on Sunday March 26 2017, @07:43AM (#484296) Journal

  4 remember to walk with small uncertain steps like an elder would

  A bean in one of your shoes will do wonders to your gait - no need to remember anything.

  --
  https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

  Parent