Loyalty.... on the cards?

I don't have a loyalty card. Maybe that says more about me than otherwise. Maybe I'm not that loyal?

Perhaps it's that I was always terrified that at the checkout, with a long queue behind me, the alarm would go off noisily and publicly; the store manager would be summoned and tell me, in front of all the other shoppers - and neighbours - that I'd only bought two bottles of gin this week instead of the usual four and 'is there something wrong sir?'

I believe that there is something similar in place when one shops online for groceries: 'You appear not to have ordered any herpes medicine for three weeks, you must be running out by now sir?'

'And you've bought tampax this week sir, as you did four weeks ago, can we interest you in a lawnmower?' (all together: because you'll not be doing anything else this weekend).

Joking aside, you do know of course that a loyalty card and the benefits that accrue therefrom, is all about gathering more information on you so that the retailler and product manufacturer can more carefully target you as a customer. That's obvious.

Advertisers use them so as to reduce the money they have to spend on 'broadcasting' their message on TV and radio, which is very expensive, and instead they can target someone they know more about via packaging, leveraging their 'partner' products etc.

And that's fine really because it means that you will tend to be 'communicated with' about products that you're interested in. A win-win then for everyone.

But what if you're vulnerable? This kind of targeting adds massively to the pressure that retailers can put on you to buy their products. 'People who bought this also bought this (and if you don't, you're an idiot).'

If people know what you buy they know your habits and largely, your lifestyle. And they can do so in a way which entices you to spend more money with them. Perhaps money you weren't planning to spend, but the offer's just too good to miss. And next week there'll be another offer that you cannot afford to miss too.

Eventually you might get to wonder who is making your shopping choices: you or the retailler?

Still, the lawnmower's quite good.

Thanks for reading etc.