• BusinessWeek, Tuesday, September 23, 2008 9:15 AM

Stores and restaurants around the world are starting to use new technology in digital point-of-sale ads for real-time promotions, instantly tailoring their sales pitches to match individual customers' selections and changes in product availability. Aroma Espresso cafes say sales of items featured on its targeted display screens have increased up to 68%.

YCD Multimedia, an Israeli company run by a former DoubleClick exec, is testing tiny in-store cameras that scan shoppers' faces to determine their sex, race and approximate age, and then flash appropriately targeted ads. The test includes undisclosed U.S. retailers.

Why put such ads in stores? That's where the people are. About 140 million Americans shop at a Wal-Mart store weekly, compared to 23 million who watch "American Idol" or 80 million watch the Super Bowl.

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