Use of "Smart Displays"in German Supermarketchain Real
Information Certainty: Documented
Deployment Purpose: Commercial Surveillance
| Summary |
|---|
| Smart displays in 40 Real supermarkets across Germany analyze customers' age and gender to tailor advertisements seen at checkout screens. The system also records how long a customer views the display, without storing images for more than 150ms. This approach aims to refine the relevance of ads by transmitting data to Echion, the operator handling the ad content. Although this deployment raises privacy concerns, similar to the use of facial recognition technology by Cadillac Fairview Malls in Canada, it has been deemed unproblematic by German authorities, indicating a different stance on privacy and surveillance technologies. |
Products and Institutions:
| Product Deployed | Unknown Products 0007 |
|---|---|
| Institutions ⠉ | Echion AG |
| Datasets | Unknown Dataset 0023 |
| Search software |
Status and Events:
| Status | Stopped |
|---|---|
| Events | Start (?, Documented, , No description) End (?, Documented, , No description) |
| Start Date | |
| End Date |
Users:
| Involved Entities | |
|---|---|
| Managed by | Echion AG |
| Used by | Real Supermarket |
Location:
| City | |
|---|---|
| Country ⠉ |
Description[ ]
The smart displays analyse the age and gender of the customer in order to show appropriate advertisment to them. Additionally, it is also saved how long the customers looks at the displays. No images are saved for longer than 150ms. This system is being tested in 40 stores around Germany.
This deployment is similar to the deployment of smart displays in Cadillac Fairview Malls in Canada but was deemed as unproplematic by the German authorities.
Der Supermarktbetreiber Real lässt die Gesichter von Kunden analysieren, die Bildschirme mit Werbung im Kassenbereich anschauen. Das Unternehmen bestätigte auf Nachfrage Informationen der "Lebensmittelzeitung", denen zufolge der Testbetrieb in 40 der 285 Märkte seit vergangenem Herbst läuft.
Einem Real-Sprecher zufolge erfasst die Kamera alle Blickkontakte des Kunden mit dem Bildschirm. Die Kamera analysiere Geschlecht und Alter und speichere die Dauer der Betrachtung. Das Unternehmen nutzt nach eigener Aussage die entstandenen Daten nicht, sondern übermittelt sie an den Betreiber Echion. Die Augsburger Firma wolle damit die Qualität der ausgestrahlten Werbefilme zielgruppenorientiert anpassen. 1