Technology, Privacy, and Ethics in Supermarket Retail

Introduction: Technology and Ethical Change

Advancements in technology generally raise ethical concerns, simply because technology has the capacity to usher in social change. Often, the evolution of material culture — such as technological devices — far outpaces any changes in laws or in ethical beliefs. In the past, for example, the development of mechanized farming tools raised concerns that humans would become lazy and slothful.

Currently, an ethical debate surrounds the issue of technological devices and privacy. This paper focuses on the use of technology — most specifically, recording devices — in supermarkets. It examines the issue from a deontological point of view, with a special focus on rights and duties, and looks at how ideas regarding retailers' duties and customers' rights, especially to privacy, are being modified in light of new technology.

Retailers' Duties to Customers

This paper ultimately asserts that if certain parameters are strictly observed, the use of recording devices and similar technology in supermarkets may be employed ethically, without violating a customer's right to privacy.

Like many western nations, the United States depends heavily on the deontological system to maintain a framework of ethics. This can be seen in the formal laws that are enshrined to define and punish actions deemed unethical. Many of these laws are applicable to the rights of customers and the duties of retailers such as supermarkets.

Supermarkets and similar retailers have a multitude of duties to their customers. They have the duty to provide goods and services at reasonable prices. In the United States, there are laws against monopolies and against grossly inflating the prices of a product, especially in times of emergency or extreme need. For example, in times of natural disasters, retailers who charge exorbitant prices for basic necessities such as water may be prosecuted for price gouging.

Retailers also have the duty to provide their shoppers with a safe environment for shopping and browsing. In a place that sells food, "safety" encompasses many aspects. The building and shopping area itself must be reasonably free from physical dangers, such as falling beams or loose floor tiles. As food sellers, supermarkets must also take precautions to ensure that their products are safe for use and consumption — this includes storing food at proper temperatures to prevent spoilage and bacterial growth.

Similarly, the supermarket is tasked with monitoring a product's shelf life and discarding items past their expiration date. Furthermore, if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues recall orders, those items should be quickly pulled from shelves.

The supermarket also has the duty to uphold the country's anti-discrimination laws and the ethical principles of egalitarianism. This includes complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing reasonable accommodations for shoppers with disabilities. It also means that supermarkets cannot turn away customers on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Such actions would be discriminatory. In other words, as a quasi-public space, supermarkets are duty-bound to provide a safe shopping environment for a wide cross-section of the public, not just a select group.

Using Technology to Meet Retail Obligations

Finally, one of the most pressing duties of a supermarket is to uphold the ethical principle of honesty. A supermarket cannot, for example, advertise a special price in a flyer and then charge customers a higher price at the register. Nor can it promote unproven assertions about a product, such as claiming that a particular bread is guaranteed to help a customer lose weight.

Supermarkets do have the right to make a profit. They are duty-bound to provide their stockholders with reasonable returns on investments and are required by law to offer their employees fair wages and benefits. It can also be argued that supermarkets are duty-bound to continuously improve the shopping experience for their customers.

One way for supermarket retailers to meet all these duties is through the use of technology, such as recording devices that track the way customers make purchases. Camera-based observational research, for example, can reveal how the placement of a product or brand influences a customer's purchasing decisions. Based on this information, supermarkets can identify higher-value areas of their floor space and charge suppliers premium prices for those display locations.

Conclusion: Ethical Parameters for Retail Technology

There are many ways for supermarkets and retailers to use technology to conduct market research without violating a customer's privacy. By observing ethical guidelines — such as providing customers with genuine product choices, disclosing the presence of cameras prominently, restricting filming to appropriate areas, and limiting the use of collected data to its stated purpose — supermarket shopping can be a fruitful experience for all parties involved.