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Walmart Wants To Put Sensors On Everything So It Can Automatically Order You Stuff (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the consumption-habits dept.

According to a recently published patent spotted by CB Insights, Walmart "describes a system of connected sensors that could monitor customers' product consumption," reports The Verge. "The sensors would be attached to products and rely on a variety of technology, like radio frequencies, Bluetooth, conventional barcodes, and RFID tags." From the report: Walmart doesn't suggest that any one sensor type would work best; rather, it lays out its options. Apparently it has a lot of ideas: these tags would all track how often a product is used and where it's located in a home. They could also help Walmart figure out what other products it could market to users based off their purchases. A tag reader installed on a fridge, for example, could scan every item that goes inside. This reader could then track when food is going bad or needs to be reordered. On the other hand, an RFID system could figure out when a person is picking up their toothbrush and use that information to estimate how much toothpaste is left. It could then be automatically reordered.

4 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Who wants this shit? by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I mean, if im out of something, maybe i don't want more of it. And when I want more of something I'm somewhat brand and price sensitive -- i'll buy whichever of 2 preferred brands of yogurt is cheaper a given week, i might try a new brand if it is on sale, and 4th brand i wouldn't take if they were paying me.

    And while I have favorite flavors sometimes i mix it up; or i'll buy 2 flavors of the smaller containers if they're on sale or 1 bigger container if that's the better deal...

    And if I'm going on vacation in a couple weeks, i want to start winding my fridge down -- so I won't buy replacement yogurt until i get back.

    And that's just yogurt. I do that for everything... don't most people? who just wants the same shit in their fridge all the time, rain or shine, whether they are home or not...

  2. Are they out of their gods-be-damned minds!? by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Walmart:

    We want to track EVERYTHING YOU DO IN YOUR HOME

    Memo to Walmart: Go to hell!!!

    I do not shop at Walmart, ever, for a variety of reasons. Even suggesting such a thing ensures that I will never set foot in a Walmart, EVER. Seriously, who the hell do they think they are!?

  3. Why this bullshit will be embraced. by geekmux · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This kind of invasive bullshit will be welcomed by the young, ignorant generation who fucking love [latest hipster tech], and will ignore anything Common F. Sense might have to say about privacy.

    Those who ignorantly dismiss an Orwellian prediction are doomed to create it.

    1. Re:Why this bullshit will be embraced. by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I am reminded of a story I heard years ago [...]

      The American version is true and a textbook marketing example: Target mails a baby ad to a teenage girl. Father is furious to find ad in mailbox, goes to local Target store and screams at the manager. A few days later the father came back and apologized to the manager, as his daughter was pregnant and she had bought a pregency test kit at Target.