All of us have needs privacy at some point in our life. However, history has made surveillance important in the United States especially after several threats to national security. This allowed the government to push for monitoring to their citizen’s mobile phones. But, today, everything is much more different. The kind of surveillance that serves the sole purpose of monitoring and preventing threat has also been commercialised and integrated to fit the retail market; offering technologies to consumers which can aid in their daily living. Some examples include ‘smart assistants’ and listening devices.
We are indeed in the digital era. Technology has gone far and it has enabled us to do a lot more. However, this advancement also required us to strip off some of our vital information and share it to be stored under the protection of social media websites and domain. One major problem attached to this reality is the threat of breach or leakage of data.
This jeopardizes the privacy of every individual with their personal information. But, to be honest this is the only right now that holds us off and stops us from pursuing digital ventures limitlessly.
Surprisingly, despite this fact, millions still use ‘smart speaker’ within their household. It seems like most of them are not bothered about what’s going to happen to their information while some are just unaware about the risks of what they have and what they do.
Meanwhile, several breaches were also admitted by one of the leading social media sites in the world; Facebook. This paved way for government bodies to interfere and question the founders about the security of the users’ information. But even after all these controversies, people just shrugged their shoulders and continued using their social media account.
Access to our data as well as our activities is power for retailers. Being able to use it wisely can enable them to strategize business plans basing on our interests and purchasing behavior so that they can promote their brand. But they must keep in mind that what they are doing should not only benefit them but it must also help in make things easier and more convenient for the public.
Surveillance is not just a spy or police thing anymore. More and more businesses are capitalizing on this to be able to cope with the trends in the market and go ahead of their competitors. Well, nothing could go wrong. It can actually benefit both retailer and consumer as long as their privacy is not being compromised.
It is not the end of innovation and advancement of technology. As time pass by, there would be more development as to how surveillance will be used in commerce. This means there would be more changes to come. But whatever these may be, let’s hope that no one would take advantage of other people to promote their self interests. It is the responsibility of retailers to assure that our information is safe all the time.