A Look into the Crystal Ball

Our shopping behavior – at least when we shop online – is now tracked seamlessly. When we look at products, other products are suggested to us that (even better) suit us and our needs. In real life, on the other hand, we all move through the same shopping worlds in the familiar discounters and retail chains – not a trace of individualization. But that could change – thanks to new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. 

At the TUM Campus Heilbronn, intensive research is being conducted on the topic of “personalized shopping.” First and foremost: Martin Meißner, Professor of Digital Marketing. We talked to him about the shopping of today, tomorrow – and the day after tomorrow. 

Professor Meißner, how do you go about your research into customer behavior in the supermarket?

In both the digital world and the real world, we use eye tracking to measure eye movements. To do this, we have virtually recreated a supermarket shelf. As in a “normal” supermarket visit, test subjects can “pick out” goods, look at them from all sides, and then decide for or against a product. 

The same shelf with the same products is also in our lab. By using eye tracking, we can compare behavior in both environments and thus better understand purchasing decisions.

What are the benefits for consumers, and what are the benefits for suppliers?

Our scientific research is always about learning more about people’s preferences in order to create an optimized offer from the company side. This is the basic principle of marketing – the principle of capitalism, in a positive sense.

By knowing and understanding people’s desires and interests, we can personalize the shopping experience. For example, virtual notices can pop up to warn people with allergies about certain ingredients. Consumers who want to make their shopping sustainable can see how many miles a product has traveled before it landed on the shelf. Recommendations from acquaintances can also be displayed virtually. All of this is information that becomes available by wearing augmented reality glasses.

What about data protection with all the information collected?

Of course, the technology also has its downsides. In addition to information about our shopping behavior, biometric data can potentially be stored, making us identifiable. Eye movements not only tell me where someone is looking. I also know how someone is moving and could determine from this whether the person is mobility-impaired. Theoretically, it is also possible to measure heart and breathing rates. This even goes so far that you could determine if a person has heart disease. On the other hand, some heart attacks could of course be detected and prevented at an early stage.

In principle, data protection is a major problem. The question is always this: who uses the data, and for what purpose? The crucial thing is that we use these new digital environments exclusively for the benefit of our society.

Let’s fast-forward 10, 20, 30 years: what might the supermarket visit of the future look like? 

Now that’s the famous look into the crystal ball. When I think of the shopping worlds of the future, I imagine it like this: ideally, consumers will have the choice of bringing their own augmented reality glasses or using those of the supplier. Virtual cues are only played when I want them to be. I can customize the virtual environment to add value for me. I can arrange goods as I wish and even ban entire products – such as alcohol or things containing sugar – from the range. 

Shopping trips with friends who live several hundred kilometers away could also be possible in the future. And that’s not all. 

Many large American companies – such as Apple and Meta – are currently working on bringing out the first augmented reality glasses. However, devices suitable for everyday use do not yet exist. Whoever defines the standards here also has data sovereignty with them. Politicians usually react only after companies have created facts and defined standards. Unfortunately, there is this time lag. So at the end of the day, we don’t know, or at least we don’t know exactly, what the future will bring. But with our research at TUM, we are trying to get a little closer to it, step by step