BizSugar.com › Marketing › Customers Are People, Not Demographics

A Japanese company recently introduced beverage vending machines that claim to read customers' minds. The machines use cameras to estimate each customer’s age and gender, then recommend beverages accordingly. Fortunately, customers can override the suggestions and make their own product selections, because the machines are only correct 75% of the time. That story highlights the risks of making assumptions about your customers’ preferences, based on broad factors like age or gender.