Mobile shopping has become a double-edged sword. Consumers have embraced the emerging technology to shop or browse sites, but many people reject the idea of retailers using mobile phones to track that information.
According to a recent survey conducted by University of California Berkeley Law, 96 percent of people don’t want their phones to share browsing information with retailers. Furthermore, 81 percent wouldn’t want phones to send telephone numbers or physical addresses to retailers, while 67 percent aren’t comfortable transmitting their email addresses via cellphone.
The study, cited on MediaPost’s website, noted that consumers are concerned about invasion of privacy.
What a lot of consumers don’t realize is that they can opt out of these programs. For retailers to do this well, their customers have to feel comfortable with their security.
Retailers can’t overstep their bounds with all sorts of marketing blitzes. There’s a fine line between enticing customers with deals and earning their loyalty versus annoying them and losing their business.
Two malls already have experienced consumer backlash, the article at MediaPost notes. Before Black Friday last year, the shopping centers in California and Virginia announced they would track shoppers’ physical locations using mobile tracking.
Consumers could only opt out by turning off their cellphones. The malls had planned to utilize mobile tracking through the end of the year, but the negative consumer reaction forced them to back off.
Source: MediaPost, April 2012
