It also encourages you to shop at, say, Kroger rather than Safeway.
Comment on What do companies get out of rewards programs
mokancan@infosec.pub 5 months ago
They can gather a lot of information about you that way. Information is $$$
aphlamingphoenix@lemm.ee 5 months ago
ptz@dubvee.org 5 months ago
They’re gathering info from my shopping habits, but I have no idea who they’re associating it with xD
I’ve used the same Kroger card since 2002. It’s one I found in the Kroger parking lot near my college dorm and have used since.
Nawor3565@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
They don’t really need to associate it with a specific person (although I’m sure they’d love to)- they can get plenty of data just within the context of what a single person buys in their store.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 5 months ago
Like if you’re pregnant.
NeptuneOrbit@lemmy.world 5 months ago
They can match it to you phones location and your credit card number.
treadful@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
It’s also generally not about you in particular. They mostly just want to lump you in with similar lifestyles groupings. Then they target you and your cohorts with targeted sales, advertising, or sell that data on the open market.
ptz@dubvee.org 5 months ago
I don’t use the app (or any for that matter), but yeah I guess they can track via my debit card.
NeptuneOrbit@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Even still, it only takes a few data points to presume exactly who you are. They are all buying and selling data. The phone company says this credit card pays for that phone number. And that credit card is used with this store perks card… The data is all there.
Railing5132@lemmy.world 5 months ago
They’re associating it with your debit/credit card, unless you’re buying with cash only. Also, the “identity” isn’t so much the target as the “profile”. Don’t get me wrong, if they are able to personally identify you, the communication will be much more… personalized… (good english) - mailings, texts, emails and coupons for stuff either you’ve bought or adjacent to your stuff (with better margins for the store) addressing you by name, grouped with other purchase-history items. But back to the profile: building a profile of your likes, dislikes, brands and such is valuable data that gets more $ for corporate as the fidelity gets higher. And as it does, the messaging to you gets more targeted.
isles@lemmy.world 5 months ago
This is why I always try “Jenny’s Number” for loyalty programs when I can enter an phone number (Local area code +8675309). A Safeway near me used to offer fuel points with grocery purchases up to $1 discount per gallon. I saved a lot of money in gas for a while, then it seemed Safeway got wise and deactivated those numbers.
ptz@dubvee.org 5 months ago
Smart.
Haven’t had this happen for a while, but cashiers used to ask for a zipcode when checking out. Always gave them 90210 .