Nordstroms tracking customer's cell phone usage!!!

Taken from: 

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/05/09/nordstrom-tracking-customer-smartphones-wifi-sniffing/

The lead paragraphs set the tone:

"You've spent quite some time in the lingerie department, but you haven't even peeked at our display of Bose® 'OE2' Audio Headphones, which were $149.95 but are now ONLY $134.96! Can we talk?"

OK, so that's not exactly what Nordstrom says it's planning to do with the information it gleans from tracking customers' movements throughout their stores.

But it certainly could market that aggressively, now that the department store - purveyor of apparel, shoes, jewelry, and the like - has implemented technology to track how much time you spend in specific departments within 17 stores in the US."

So, Nordstroms can track your phone (not your personal information as you walk through their store.  They can see how much time you spend in particular departments.  This might help them to better show the merchandise - departments that didn't have much time spend in them might not have attractive posters and displays.

But ... in a bigger sense, this is another "big brother is watching you" syndrome!!!