Shop n’ Stalk

Since I do a lot of online shopping (or really, online browsing), I know that retail companies have a pretty freakishly accurate sense of my style. I always notice this with shoes that I view online. I typically check out various styles of gladiator sandals or heels with a chunky, wooden bottom; and I’ve realized that “Shoes You May Also Like” tend to be either another, similar type of sandal or heel. Another huge factor in shoe shopping is the color. So, I generally wear shoes that are some shade of brown–and this color of shoes is also generally the only color I look at online. If data analysts enhanced their predictive skills, then they would not only look at the types of shoes I am purchasing online, but they would be able to predict colors I might be interested in. I just tested this out on the Urban Outfitters app, and the suggested shoes were in other colors–mostly black. The thing is, I kind of hate black shoes and never buy them. Of course, I’ve never explicitly stated that online, so there is no way for some computer program to know that; however, looking at fairly simple data would sort this out. Data analysts at/for UO, for example, could go through all my recent and past shoe purchases to determine the style of shoe I am most inclined to buy as well as the color. They could also see the price point that I typically surrender to, and they could trick me with similarly priced options.

Also, since UO is under the company URBN, it is a sister company to Free People and Anthropologie. I have the apps for those stores on my phone, too, and I know I definitely check out the same styles of shoes from both stores. Data analysts could put these bits of information together and come at me more accurately on each app. I mean, the more strappy sandals and neutrally shaded shoes I am shown, the more tempted I am to buy. I’ll just keep clicking away.

My reaction to the possibility of being specifically targeted online is that it freaks me out because it definitely happens. It sounds like all I care about is shopping, which isn’t true, but it’s also my best example… Anyway, I know that whenever I put something in a “Save for Later” basket online, those items pop up on in advertisements on Facebook or in the sidebar of my web-browser. It is like I am being watched and taunted by articles of clothing. After the readings and lesson, I don’t think I am going to alter my online habits because I think that predictive analytics would just manipulate the new, different data that I might generate. I feel like there’s no escaping it. However, maybe I’ll try messing around with the data I’m providing by looking at online apparel and shoes that are atypical of me.

Yes, I’d say that predictive analytics does make me a bit more wary of ads and products that are shown on my browser. It’s funny, though, because predictive analytics can’t decipher if or when I am actually going to buy something from a store. Most of the time I am browsing out of boredom and buy nothing. And when I buy has nothing really to do with when my paycheck hits my bank account, so I don’t think there is a chronological data set that would clear this up.

(I downloaded Google Takeout and barely any data was pulled. The most significant thing in the archive is the 56 files in my Google Drive. But, other than that, there is basically either one file or no files making up a data set.)