Cameras that guess your age and sex are coming to store shelves
Eyeing that can of soda in the supermarket cooler? Or maybe you’re craving a pint of ice cream? A camera could be watching you.
But it’s not there to see if you’re stealing. These cameras want to get to know you and what you’re buying.
It’s a new technology being trotted out to retailers in the United States, where cameras try to guess your age, gender or mood as you walk by. The intent is to use the information to show you targeted real-time ads on in-store video screens.
Companies are pitching retailers to bring the technology into their physical stores as a way to better compete with online rivals like Amazon that are already armed with troves of information on their customers and their buying habits.