Woman goes into the fitting room at Old Navy. Then she puts her stuff on a chair and sees a new feature in action: ‘I’d instantly feel watched’
A woman went into a fitting room at Old Navy. Then, she noticed that all of the items she selected to try on were displayed on a screen inside the changing room. Confused, she realized there was an RFID screen inside the room detecting exactly which items she brought into the changing area.
“ Old Navy, what the actual [expletive],” said Hannah @hannahxhev in a video with over 497,000 views. “When you walk into the fitting room and you put your stuff down, it knows what you have, and you don’t have to hang it up because this sweater doesn’t have a hanger. I just walked in here with it and it knows that I have it.”
It led many commenters to wonder exactly how the store was tracking the items and whether something was “watching them.” So, how do Old Navy’s new scanners operate? How can they immediately detect whatever item a person brings into them?
How does an RFID screen operate?
The scanners inside Old Navy’s changing rooms are RFID screens. These screens read RFID tags to provide real-time feedback and visualizations. It does this by tracking the internal coding inside a product’s tag, which then signals what the item is.
So, there’s no person watching from the other side of the screen to track these items, contrary to most shoppers’ worst fears.
Commenters identified this, saying, “It’s the chips in the clothes. Lots of stores are now doing this because it’s easier to keep track of all the items in the store.”
What stores have RFID screens?
According to some viewers, these special, non-handheld RFID screens have started popping up at Victoria’s Secret, Uniqlo, and Zara. According to one commenter, they “help improve customer service and help identify what product is being stolen,” hence many stores adding them. It is harder to steal an item if the store knows exactly what a shopper is supposed to have with them in a changing room, thus making product retention slightly easier.
For that reason, a variety of major retailers have placed them in-store permanently or, at the very least, have started trial runs with the screens.
@hannahxhev i don't like that ?? #oldnavy #shopping #fashion ♬ original sound – miss terious
How could an RFID screen improve customer experiences?
RFID screens can help employees focus more on customer service, as they take some of the surveillance work out of the job. By reducing the amount of human surveillance needed at key entry points, workers can focus more on customer experiences. That helps improve employee efficiency.
Still, many commenters were somewhat disgusted by the thought of having a “tracking screen” near them in-store. Hannah claimed the sensors felt too technologized, even after viewers explained how they operated.
Some commenters shared that they wouldn’t change in front of one. Or, that they would place something over the screen so it couldn’t “see” them. “Maybe I’m paranoid but I’d put my jacket over the screen while I’m changing,” said one viewer.
Others agreed, adding they wouldn’t consider changing in front of them.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Hannah via TikTok direct message and Old Navy for comment.
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