Applying biometrics to shopping studies

So this might sound like something Q might come up with in a Bond movie, but scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab have apparently found a way to discern which products exactly excite shoppers the most!

They needn’t have gone to so much trouble, a quick survey of the Ve Interactive ladies would probably have sufficed…

It’s simple, you wear a perspiration-sensitive bracelet when you shop, both on and offline! The bracelet is sensitive to body temperature, electrodermal activity (changes in skin sweat levels) and can measure movement too. This information can then be sold to retailers so they can look for patterns in what makes people spend. Electrodermal activity goes up you see when people are excited. (We’ve been electro-dermatalogically hyperactive ever since our recent award wins!)

Market research is increasingly turning to technology to get more reliable reactions from consumers. Because in spite of all the planning and intentions that go into making purchases, shoppers often follow their instincts — a response analysts can track in sweat and even brain activity.

So 50 bracelet-wearing shoppers hit the stores both on and offline on Black Friday, and most had a positive experience, with 80 percent spending more than they had planned and more than half buying presents for themselves. Surprisingly, shoppers showed similar excitement/stress patterns regardless of whether they were shopping in stores or online.

The Ve Interactive ladies could have told you this.

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