Shoppers at discount store Tesco in the U.K. might get the unnerving feeling that someone is watching them. Something is. The chain is using sophisticated software to identify customers and beam ads at them. No, not by name: by demographic.

The software from a British company called Amscan can scan a person’s appearance and tell whether they’re a 50-year-old woman or a 20-year-old man. It does this based on visual cues that are proprietary and highly creepy.

In the example provided in a Businessweek article on the software, this pair might be captured on camera while putting gas petrol in their SUV two-door hatchback. When it’s midmorning, the middle-aged woman is more likely to buy coffee if it’s advertised to her; the young man might prefer a soda or energy drink. The system serves up ads to them accordingly on the gas pump screens.

“No image or picture of customers is recorded or captured, nor is any personal data captured,” a spokesperson for the company that makes the software behind this creepiness told Businessweek in a statement that is not at all unnerving.

Tesco’s In-Store Ads Watch You—and It Looks Like You Need a Coffee [Bloomberg Businessweek]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.