Reactions to Retailers using Technology to track Shopper movements in Stores. NYTimes writes:

Like dozens of other brick-and-mortar retailers, Nordstrom wanted to learn more about its customers — how many came through the doors, how many were repeat visitors — the kind of information that e-commerce sites like Amazon have in spades. So last fall the company started testing new technology that allowed it to track customers’ movements by following the Wi-Fi signals from their smartphones.

But when Nordstrom posted a sign telling customers it was tracking them, shoppers were unnerved.

“We did hear some complaints,” said Tara Darrow, a spokeswoman for the store. Nordstrom ended the experiment in May, she said, in part because of the comments.

Nordstrom’s experiment is part of a movement by retailers to gather data about in-store shoppers’ behavior and moods, using video surveillance and signals from their cellphones and apps to learn information as varied as their sex, how many minutes they spend in the candy aisle and how long they look at merchandise before buying it.

All sorts of retailers — including national chains, like Family Dollar, Cabela’s and Mothercare, a British company, and specialty stores like Benetton and Warby Parker — are testing these technologies and using them to decide on matters like changing store layouts and offering customized coupons.

It’s funny how we would give our location and get subscribed to alerts to apps from retailers like Amazon or search on Amazon for shoes and get hounded by similar ads from any site you visit for next one week, but we find it highly intrusive when the same thing is done in the physical world. This is the kind of disadvantage offline retailers reel under.

Nordstrom sees more e-commerce, mobile commerce in its future

The Internet is Nordstrom's fastest-growing channel and, with $1.5 billion in cash on hand, it's spending heavily to support that growth, meaning more jobs at its Seattle headquarters.

The 111-year-old company is working on new mobile shopping options and personalization features, so that visitors to its website might soon receive recommendations based on their online and in-store buying habits.

It's also testing a local same-day delivery service for a possible broader rollout, and it's expanding its merchandise assortment online to give customers more selection. "If you're listening to customers, they're telling you that their expectations around how they want to shop are evolving," Jamie Nordstrom, who oversees the company's website as president of its direct division, said in a recent interview at his corporate offices.

"Many customers today don't have several hours to shop like maybe previous generations did," he said. "They're looking to be efficient, and they're looking for help."

RIS News - Nordstrom Deploys 6,000 Mobile POS Devices

Technology is a major focus for Nordstrom this year according to Blake Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom. After installing Wi-Fi in all full line stores in November 2010, the retailer plans to deploy 6,000 handheld computers in these stores by July as well as make enhancements to its mobile and e-commerce channels.

"We should have roughly 5,000 to 6,000 handhelds in our full line stores by July," explains Nordstrom. "We will learn from these efforts and quickly add to this functionality with plans to have significantly more of these devices in our stores by year-end."

The retailer will also launch a mobile-optimized version of its e-commerce website in June that will allow customers to shop and make purchases from their smartphones.

In a unique and first of it’s kind. Nordstrom flagship store in Seattle has put Microsoft Kinect in their windows and created an unique experience where people can come and write/paint with just the motion of their hands. Cool stuff.

Please DO Touch the Glass: Our Interactive Window

Our brilliant Interactive Development, Visual Merchandising and Operations Teams put their heads together and brought light writing with light to life. With the help of Kinect’s infrared technology and their technical genius, our teams created a seamlessly interactive display that anyone can “paint” on with using just the motion of their hands in front of the glass.

We’ve loved watching the curiosity and delight of people engaging with our windows. So, if you’re in the neighborhood now through April 11, be sure to drop by—and please do touch the glass.