Walmart wants to monitor shoppers’ facial expressions

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This article was published 10/08/2017 (3294 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the future, Walmart shoppers may not have to ask for help. Just a simple scowl could summon a helpful worker ready to assist.

A recent patent filing suggests new ways the United States’ top retailer wants to get even closer to its customers: a video system that keeps tabs on customers’ facial expressions as they move through the store and movements at checkout lines.

While Walmart isn’t explicit about what it has in mind, and a spokesperson could not be reached for immediate comment, the system apparently envisions using video to scan for customers who are frustrated or unhappy so help can be dispatched. A shopper, for instance, might not be able to find a product or figure out pricing.

Conversely, store managers could use the system to determine when they have a hit on their hands — a display or product that delights shoppers.

In any case, the system, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal, could give Walmart an edge in its battle with Amazon, the online retailer that is eating into profits.

According to the patent, Walmart says it’s easier to retain customers than acquire new ones through advertising.

“Often, if customer service is inadequate, this fact will not appear in data available to management until many customers have been lost. With so much competition, a customer will often simply go elsewhere rather than take the time to make a complaint.”

The technology would “allow Walmart to respond more efficiently to customer service issues, even before a customer actually complains,” writes Taylor Knight on the Total Retail blog.

— USA Today