• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 2, 2014

I was at the Smart & Final store, trying to look at ingredient lists on the backs of packages, when two juice containers tumbled off the shelves. Then it got worse. The two plastic containers blasted their way around stuff after hitting the floor, spilling their wares over my feet -- feet which were wearing sandals.

“Oh, really!” I cried out.

Getting the containers upright I noticed no one else in the aisles. About 30-second later, I heard the most cliched line in supermarket history over the loudspeaker: “Clean up on aisle 6!”  

I was indeed in aisle 6, and figured there was a video of me being transmitted back to a central location with plenty of TV monitors.

Beside the obvious embarrassment and sticky dogs, later on I thought about something else to contend with: How much of this scene and its results will be recorded for future data targeting? Paying with a credit card these days in a Target, Home Depot or P.F. Chang’s can be a risky business. Someone might have your stuff. Now add some video, complete with some facial recognition, to be filed away somewhere. And horrors: I didn’t comb my hair that day!

We can be worried about our consumer data getting into the wrong hands -- or pleased this data will help some marketer’s effort in providing us with products and services.

MediaPost columnist Bob Garfield at the OMMA Precision Display said you don’t need “Golf Digest” to buy a set of golf clubs. Those golf club manufacturers will find you -- anywhere.  Juice manufacturers have yet to started appearing on my web searches

Should I be worried about heading into another Smart & Final store? That somehow, through facial recognition and product buying history, I’ll get a raw deal -- or at least be under suspicion?

“Friedman’s here! Someone guard the juice!  And jack up the prices!”  I don’t mind. My sandals are already cleaned. And now everyday I see numerous digital ads for pedicures.