John Costello has an impressive resume as a marketing executive with Home Depot, Sears and Yahoo. His new job, president of the biometric payment company Pay By Touch, doesn't seem as prestigious at first glance, but don't tell that to Mr. Costello.
As far as he is concerned, he is in exactly the right place, he told Ad Age, because he believes biometric systems have the potential to transform the relationship among consumers, retailers and manufacturers."
As he sees it, marketing is in the process of evolving from mass communications to one-to-one relationships. In the future, as he sees it, consumers could pay for groceries with a touch of a finger at an in-store kiosk and, at the same time, receive offers based on their personal preferences and previous shopping behavior.
There still appears to be a long way to go before Mr. Costello's future vision has the opportunity to be realized. Pay By Touch is still in the early stages of development, testing its system in 2,400 stores.
Discussion Question: What do you see as the potential of biometric technology in retail operations?