As job searches on smartphones and tablets explode, many companies are missing out on top candidates because their websites or job applications aren’t optimized for mobile devices.(Photo: Andrew Ross, AFP/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO — Last summer, retailer Nordstrom told the New York Times it had experimented with tracking customer’s movements using WiFi signals from their smartphones.
While the signals are invisible, Nordstrom put up a sign telling customers they were being tracked. Customers complained, and Nordstrom ended the experiment.
While consumers have become accustomed to being tacked online, they are creeped out — or just plain worried — when the practice is extended into physical space. It would not be so bad if retailers were only trying to map customer movement through the store, but they may also grab metadata — the phone’s MAC (media access control) address, a unique identifier that opens up a world of cross-reference data.
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