Proximity Marketing: Often Creepy, but It Doesn’t Have to Be

Author: Nora Dunne

Date: October 26, 2017

Link: https://www.digitalethics.org/essays/proximity-marketing-often-creepy-it-doesnt-have-be

First Impression: By reading the title, the essay probably discusses the pros and cons of Proximity Marketing and how this can be helpful to both a business and a consumer.

Quote: “If retailers want their customers to shed the “malicious” connotation that comes with data tracking, they need to be upfront about how they are using that data, including location”

Reflection:

Reading the essay made me think twice before accepting the terms and conditions of an application, although reading it would be beneficial for me since I would be aware of what their plans are for using my data, but it would cost time and money reading it so I just scroll down and agree to whatever it says. Nowadays there have been recent news about companies experiencing data breaches, this is dangerous since your data is exposed and people could use it for criminal purposes, which is commonly termed as identity theft. Stores should be able to provide an easy to read and user friendly way of giving out their terms and conditions to its consumers and give them an option to not agree at all, a good example would be through art and short text so that people are aware of the advertisements that they will receive once they leave the store, the annoying ads they will be receiving while browsing the web, and many more. Terms and conditions that are short and easy to read is better than it having small font, long, and has complicated words that no one would really spend their time reading it. In conclusion, stores should provide an easy to read and user friendly way of asking for people’s data for market analysis when proximity marketing so that users would be aware of the advertisements that they will receive from the store online.

5 Things I Learned

1. Most proximity marketing is delivered via beacons placed throughout a store.

2. While shopping, there should be an option for us to not receive any advertisements from a department stores beacon.

3. Consumers should take time to read the terms and conditions of an app before agreeing to anything that it says.

4. Instead of the app constantly notifying a consumer if he wants to buy a pair of shoes, it should be helping the consumer while he is shopping and give him real time information on the coupons and sales available at the current isle.

5. Earning a customer’s trust by being helpful and relevant is the key.

5 Integrative Questions

1. Do department stores that use beacons for proximity marketing respect their consumers’ privacy?

2. If a person does not go to stores, such as department stores, receive advertisements by just passing through a store?

3. Aside from consumer analytics, what other data do these stores that use proximity marketing harvest?

4. Will providing a better way of designing an applications terms and conditions improve a companies relationship with its customers.
5. Should there be an option to download the data gathered from proximity marketing.