Who's the customer?

New technology will link apple growers with apple consumers, Yakima, Washington, orchardist Dave Allan believes. He envisions a future in which consumers will use their cell phones as digital billfolds and the apples they buy at the retail store will have bar codes on them. Together, these systems will provide a tremendous amount of information to the retailer about both the product and its source, and about consumers’ buying habits. For example, the retailer will know the identity of the supplier, when the apples were produced, the date they went on display, and whose apples prompt the consumer to come […]