Amazon is introducing new tech to monitor shoppers in its grocery stores and share data with advertisers

• Amazon has new data tracking in its physical grocery stores to mine data on shoppers' habits.
• The company announced its Store Analytics, which will offer brands aggregated data, in a blog post.

Amazon has launched a new data tracking program for its physical grocery stores to mine data on shoppers' behavior, the company announced in a blog post on Wednesday.

Store Insights, rolled out to all Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores with the Dash Cart or Just Walk Out technology in the US, will feed data back to brands on shoppers' interests – similar to data collection on e-commerce sites. The data collection and analytics aims to provide brands insights and feedback on their promotions and advertising strategies, the company said.

Individual or disaggregated data will not be shared and customers are able to opt out of the service on the Store Insights website, according to Amazon. Data will be "stored in a secure zone in the cloud," the blog post said.

Data tracked by the site will include how often products are taken off shelves and subsequently purchased either during the same store visit, or later on Amazon's website.

Amazon's cashierless stores themselves operate through a complex system of shopper surveillance, including AI-powered cameras that follow shoppers and weight sensors on carts. Amazon has made major investments in its cashierless stores in the US and has plans for global expansion in 2022 and 2023, according to internal documents seen by Insider.

But Amazon has also come up against privacy scandals in the past. The company's delivery van surveillance cameras closely monitor workers down to their hand movements and facial expressions, which made some workers feel paranoid.

In December, shareholders asked Amazon to audit its productivity quotas and worker surveillance systems.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.