"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> "The Ranger" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Vox Humana > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Ohio grocer "segments" shoppers with personalized
> > > prices
> > > Shopper card data being put to discriminatory uses,
> > > [..] Dorothy Lane Market, an upscale grocery chain
> > > in Ohio, has implemented Customer Specific Pricing
> > > (CSP), a practice where different prices are charged
> > > to each group of customers. Now the majority of all
> > > discounts available in the store only go to the identified
> > > top 30% of Dorothy Lane shoppers.
> > >
> > > After starting their card program, Dorothy Lane eliminated
> > > newspaper advertising and switched to an "in-store ad-sheet".
> > [snip remaining paranoia]
> >
> > Ah. I understand. Customer loyalty -- beyond price -- is an E-V-I-L
> > concept and implementing a rewards system for those customers that do
> > more than shop the sales is wrong. Got it.
> >
> > As has been said oft enough but ingored before the sentence is
> > finished, if you don't like the store and it's cards, don't shop
> > there. There _are_ alternatives in every major city across the world.
> > Many of these same alternatives offer cheaper prices and a
> > more-specific set of merchandize to their clientele than any of the
> > larger chains.
> >
> > Fer example: I do little shopping at Safeway anymore because of three
> > basic reasons. 1) The Safeway customer card (for me-and-mine) doesn't
> > work -- even on a limited basis nowadays; I don't find the items
> > offered any cheaper than I can get them in bulk at several other
> > retailers. 2) Corporate goes in [too often] and changes the
> > merchandize on the aisles. I am a creature of habit; do not muck with
> > my Habitrail. 3) I have six (that I'm aware) other stores (only one
> > with a card system) that offer superior pricing on almost everything I
> > was buying at Safeway. It was minor to adjust my weekly route
> > accordingly and exclude Safeway. The 4th reason was a bonus; I started
> > shopping the neighborhood ethnic groceries (an Indian, a Pakistani,
> > two Mexican, one <I think> Portuguese).
> >
> > Paranoia has its place but not with this particular marketing
> > "secret."
>
> The problem with your approach is that it is destined for extinction. You
> will ultimately not be able to find a store without a loyalty card. Once
> stores start to segment their customer bases and assign pricing based on
the
> customer's worth to the store, you will have to either pay far more for an
> item because you don't have a card or you flit from one store to another,
or
> you will buy all your items from one store. Once they have you, you will
> ultimately pay more because there will be no incentive for you to switch
to
> another merchant. I don't see this as being paranoid. It is just
reality.
> It is being done already. In addition, that database will likely be used
> both to increase profit because they will sell the list, and it will also
be
> likely to be used against you by the government or in civil litigation.
The
> only party that benefits from the card is the store.
>
>

Your last statement is true in general, but from the persepective of the
individual consumer there is this choice: am I better off shopping at my
favorite market with their card or without it? I choose my store and what I
buy without reference to the card but even so I have saved about $150 this
year. As for your claim that "it will also be likely to be used against you
by the government or in civil litigation" I challenge you to provide any
evidence that this happens in more than a few isolated incidents, or at all
for that matter. This is what I mean by paranoid thinking - just because
something *could* happen does not mean that it will.

Peter Aitken