US Target stores are tracking shoppers. Photo: Supplied
Shoppers are being tracked in US Target stores, posing the question if the controversial initiative could come to Australian shops.
The big box store has been tracking your shopping habits through chips planted in its shopping carts.
And you can toss out your tin foil hat because an employee confirmed the freaky tech in a recent TikTok. The employee — who goes by the moniker Elijah P on the platform — posted a TikTok showing where the tracker sneakily sits on the carts.
“These baskets, this thing, that’s a tracker. So they are now tracking shoppers at Target …. for supposedly consumer habits,” the employee said.
If that wasn’t bizarre enough, the shopping cart tech then syncs up to the lights above you to track your movements.
It’s called “intelligent LED lighting,” where Target stores have added LED bulbs that not only illuminate the building, but also track shoppers with its “real-time positioning services.”
The company that makes the tech — Acuity Brands — announced the partnership with Target almost 10 years ago. It first hit stores back in 2017. The lighting company revealed in the same release that locations will add its Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless technology to shopping carts.
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The employee posted a TikTok revealing where the tracker lives. Photo: TikTok
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Together, the two products — the smart LEDs and BLE — then sync up to track “customers’ shopping behaviour and monitor employee activity” through the lights as tiny signals are added inside.
“The new asset tracking functionality uses BLE radios embedded in intelligent LED lighting from Acuity Brands and BLE-enabled sensor tags,” a press release from the company read.
“The tags can be attached to assets, such as shopping carts, to track their movement, empowering retail personnel to understand customer shopping behaviour and monitor employee activity.”
And the company isn’t hiding this; its own policy admits to collecting your location data while inside the stores. And it’s not just from the Target app.
The Target employee revealed the tech in a post on August 29. Photo: TikTok
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Target has said it will automatically collect information during your interactions at your local store — this also includes on the website, in the app, with online ads and emails. However, you can opt out by turning the sharing feature off on your phone or in the app.
Despite opting out of the geolocation sharing, the company can still track shopping habits based on your cart, and it’s not sitting well with shoppers. “Yet another reason to not shop at Target,” one shopper wrote. Another raged, “This is an invasion of privacy!!”
One user compared the tech to Black Mirror — the sci-fi series set in the near-future dystopia where modern tech is integrated into society.
“It’s giving Black Mirror. Unacceptable Target WTAF,” the commenter wrote.
The Post has reached out to Target for comment but has not immediately heard back.