As their struggle with store closings persists, some U.S. mall owners and retailers are stepping up their use of technology that recognizes people’s faces but stops short of identifying and recording them.

Landlords could do it all if they wanted. Facial-recognition technology has advanced to the point that U.S. malls could know shoppers’ names when they enter, watch what they buy and send them promotions to encourage repeat visits.

Industry executives say they aren’t ready to go that far, partly because of the likely backlash from privacy advocates. But some U.S. shopping centers have started to use technology that detects facial features and individuals’ paths of travel anonymously. Artificial intelligence is then used to mine that data to determine traffic patterns, worker performance and consumer reaction to displays and marketing.

NewMark Merrill Cos., which owns 80 shopping centers in California, Colorado and Illinois, has deployed facial-recognition technology at its Janss Marketplace, an outdoor mall in Thousand Oaks, Calif. NewMark plans to roll it out in four more locations.

“We definitely at the minimum want features that accurately identify who your customers are, where in the shopping centers they go, and how long they spend there,” said Sandy Sigal, NewMark’s chief executive.