Wal-Mart, Eyeing Mobile And Online, To Revamp Its Privacy Policy
Written by Evan SchumanJuly 23rd, 2009
One month from now, Wal-Mart will unveil a radically changed privacy policy, one that envisions a merged channel world, where consumers are as likely to use their phone and laptop to interact with Wal-Mart as much as they would walk into a store or speak with a call center. The policy talks about data not merely from a PCI and a purchase history perspective, but also from a security camera's and cellphone's perspective.
"Our goal is to have it be completely comprehensive, for both online and offline," said Zoe Strickland, the Wal-Mart VP who serves as the chain's Chief Privacy Officer. "We need to govern all the different ways that we collect and use information. Privacy is not just about using the Web site. It's everything that happens when you're interacting with the company." The new policy opens the doors to consumers being able to examine their full customer files. Or does it?
This Story Is Only Available For Premium Subscribers. Click Or Login In Below To Read The Rest Of This Story.
Already a Subscriber? Login Here
One Comment | Read Wal-Mart, Eyeing Mobile And Online, To Revamp Its Privacy Policy
Leave a Reply
Readers, specifically those who want to comment on a story:
Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk.com? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk.com? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
-Christine
August 7th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
This is a good example of taking the right steps towards integrating your customer intelligence so that analytical insight is actionable for relevant customer-facing operational communications— via phone, e-mail, online, mobile, and POS. While Wal-Mart is one of the first major retailers to tackle the privacy issue head on, the other side of the story is how a company can provide more personal, customized retail experience that customers have come to expect. Smart retailers like Wal-Mart recognize the need to integrate and cross-analyze data from many sources.
Web intelligence packages enable companies to integrate and make sense of the interplay of offline (in-store, call center, etc.) and online data to track and determine what content that customers wish to see, so that customers get relevant messages wherever they interact.
With this technology, catalog retailer JD Williams in the UK, for example, understands in detail whether a customer has truly abandoned a shopping basket on-line, and can identify if the item was later purchased from another channel, such as the call center. Based on detailed web data, they know which customers to target in campaigns, what products are most relevant to their personal interests, and a solid reason for making contact. Or JDW can identify when customers select an item to add to their shopping cart but the item is out of stock – and see what the customer decides to do next: 1)ask the business to notify the customer when the item will be available in the next 14 days, 2) abandon the item and log out 3) or choose an alternative item.
They can then target the customer again when the item is back in stock – as appropriate. This also helps the market forecasting team determine the correct levels of stock required, based upon true customer demand.