# Your grocery store complaints **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830 "2011-07-30T13:41:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/141 "2011-08-04T02:39:37Z")
I hope **Moonlitherial’s** store sends her some internet coupons for aspirin. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/142 "2011-08-04T02:43:09Z")
It’s okay, I’m Canadian we can buy codeine (theme of the week!) ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/143 "2011-08-04T03:02:15Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > OK, and then… what? That is what I am missing here. So the store knows that I purchase tons of Vitamin Water or a specific brand of sauce when it goes on sale. How does that then get turned into me purchasing something else? > > So they are tracking what sells. Who cares? How is that even a thing at all? 😕 > > Your original objection to the loyalty cards was that they cause “ads” and you still have not said what ads and where. > > Boy, people here get really paranoid if anyone anywhere knows anything about them, even if it’s the most benign information. Well for one, I am not paranoid, I just don’t like all my personal information, name, address, DOB, phone number, plus all my purchasing history to be available to some random company that has no vested interest in my privacy. I get that you’re confused by the concept of targeted marketing. You say you don’t give a shit about anybody knowing about the massive quantities of vitamin water you get. Great. But let’s say you have scanned that loyalty card for all of the prescriptions you’ve purchased, all the condoms, yeast infection creams, cigarettes, diet and weight loss pills, ibuprofen, “male enhancement” pills, etc. So when they’re going through the aggregate data, they see that sexually active males with smoking habits and poor self esteem, weight issues and small penises also get a lot of body aches (ibuprofen purchases). The next time you scan your card, you might get half a dozen coupons for Ben Gay muscle rub, nicotine patches, chemically activated ice packs that don’t need to be frozen, $2 off a subscription to “Self Help” magazine, and Kimono condoms (size extra small). It’s not just that you buy a lot of vitamin water, the goal is to create a whole profile of you and who you are and what you buy, so they can try and sell you more things, and different things. And all of that information is tied to your phone number, your name, date of birth, and your address. So suddenly it’s not as benign as it seems. Listen, I’m not some crazy tin-foil paranoid conspiracy theorists. These are data mining companies and their goal is to find out what sells. If that doesn’t bother you, great. It bothers a lot of people, and the fact that they have become so prevalent that they are artificially jacking up the prices of products so the appearance of “saving” a couple bucks per purchase justifies an intrusion into your purchasing habits and privacy is irritating to many. PS: When I was referring to ads, I was talking about web browsers who inject targeted ads into your browsing that is based on where you have previously visited, as a similar activity that I find intrusive and annoying. When I talked about loyalty cards, I was referring to targeted marketing that occurs as a result of the tracking of purchase histories. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/144 "2011-08-04T03:06:28Z")
I’ll give a personal example of how annoying this is. One time, my mother was in town and wanted to stop by CVS to grab a couple things. I gave her my CVS card to scan when she made her purchase. Turns out she bought a bottle of Beano during her trip. So every week for like _3 fucking years_ I would get a coupon for Beano printed out with my receipt. Apparently the purchase of Beano one time on my card fucked with their algorithm so badly that they assumed I needed it nearly constantly, and were constantly printing coupons for it for years afterward. Yeah, just throw it away, I know. But it was a constant reminder of “we know everything that you’ve ever purchased, ever”. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/145 "2011-08-04T03:19:38Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > This is a shopper complaint, not a store complaint. Mine, too! > [@](#): > > Stop cutting off people using the motorized carts. Observe right of way. If I’m in the main aisle and you’re on the secondary aisle, stop! Don’t just barrel out into the main aisle. It’s _just like driving_. Hell, it _is_ driving. I think **tumbleddown** is describing the same problem with the situation reversed, i.e., the pedestrian exits the secondary aisle without yielding to the motorized cart in the main aisle, and so I think we could just both sum up by saying, yield right of way. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/146 "2011-08-04T03:26:11Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > But that’s exactly what I’m talking about. They may offer you an occasional flashy discount, but they’re bringing in MORE MONEY overall. That means that 50 cents off is offset by an extra dime on your milk, or a quarter on your bread. Or it could mean that they can function more efficiently, with less spoilage, greater inventory turnover and more cost-effective advertising. In other words, it does NOT necessarily mean that you wind up paying more for their system. > [@](#): > > You _will_ end up paying more overall. You HAVE to for the system to work, and it obviously works very, very well, as evidenced by how many stores use it. No, you DON’T necessarily have to pay more for the system to work. Not if it means that they can operate their stores more efficiently. I would think that this would be pretty clear. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/147 "2011-08-04T04:33:24Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Or it could mean that they can function more efficiently, with less spoilage, greater inventory turnover and more cost-effective advertising. > > In other words, it does NOT necessarily mean that you wind up paying more for their system. > No, you DON’T necessarily have to pay more for the system to work. Not if it means that they can operate their stores more efficiently. I would think that this would be pretty clear. I’m not sure why “increased sales” is being substituted with “operate more efficiently”, but: > [@Consumer Affairs](#): > > Moreover, studies have found that loyalty cards’ primary purpose – to offer savings to members – do no such thing. In fact, stores that use loyalty card programs actually increase the regular prices of items for non-club members, making purchases more expensive for all buyers and reducing the margin of card members’ saving to almost nothing. “Everyday” items can be marked up from 28-71% after card programs are introduced. [http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/loyalty\_cards.html](http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/loyalty_cards.html) So yes, everybody is paying more when stores institute loyalty cards. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/148 "2011-08-04T11:55:12Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Or it could mean that they can function more efficiently, with less spoilage, greater inventory turnover and more cost-effective advertising. > > In other words, it does NOT necessarily mean that you wind up paying more for their system. > No, you DON’T necessarily have to pay more for the system to work. Not if it means that they can operate their stores more efficiently. I would think that this would be pretty clear. The efficiency possibility had occurred to me. However, I don’t see how having individualized data would increase their ability to do this over simple aggregated data. In other words, for this purpose, knowing “last month we sold X number of these and Y number of those” should be just as useful as knowing “Person A bought 3 of these and person B bought 4 of these…” As for your other points, “greater inventory turnover” and “more cost-effective advertising” both boil down, ultimately, to more money coming out of my pocket and going into theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/149 "2011-08-04T12:12:33Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > And again I ask, what ads? Do you mean ads like signs in the store itself? Ads in the Sunday paper? Where are all these ads that are going to compel me to buy something I wouldn’t have bought anyway? Yeah, I’ve heard people bitch and moan about the ads that loyalty cards cause for years but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a single one. I’ve got cards for the local grocery store, Best Buy, Rite Aid and (for the time being) Borders. None of them tailored the ads towards my purchases. And any ads I was sent were general purpose ads. > [@Smeghead](#): > > I’m leery of turning this into another “loyalty cards are great/evil” thread - we’ve done that plenty of times before. Let me put it very simply. Grocery store chains are putting massive efforts into these cards. They have to make the cards, get people to sign up for them, scan them with every transaction, record the data, use it in some way, provide the associated coupons or whatnot, etc, etc. The usual counterargument at this point is that they’re really not spending a whole lot to keep the system running, but that’s not the point. The point is that the stores are spending _something_ to do this, and from what I’ve seen, nearly every single chain out there has hopped on the bandwagon. Does anyone honestly believe that they would be doing this if there weren’t massive profits to be had from these cards? My local grocery started their loyalty card about twenty years ago and I knew a ton of people who worked there. The story they told the public and all of the workers in the stores was that they were bringing out a loyalty card (it wasn’t standard practice then) to save money versus the very expensive color circular with coupons they had to print up every week. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/150 "2011-08-04T13:30:08Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Listen, I’m not some crazy tin-foil paranoid conspiracy theorists. These are data mining companies and their goal is to find out what sells. If that doesn’t bother you, great. It bothers a lot of people, and the fact that they have become so prevalent that they are artificially jacking up the prices of products so the appearance of “saving” a couple bucks per purchase justifies an intrusion into your purchasing habits and privacy is irritating to many. There are two things you’re missing from your equation 1. The point of target marketing is to figure out what I want and try to sell it to me. Look, I’m going to get advertising anyway. Why wouldn’t I want advertising that targets me, specifically, and informs me about things I’m probably most interested in. Worst case, I ignore it just like all the other advertising out there. Best case, I try something I’d never have tried and like it. I know…you’re thinking worst worst worst case where I actually buy something and don’t like it. That’s happened a billion times before and it’ll happen a billion times afterwards. Fact is, no one forced me to buy it. I wanted to. 2. No one needs to know shit about you if you don’t want them to. Make up a fake name, a fake phone number, a fake address and go to town on the savings confident that you’re giving the marketers what for. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/151 "2011-08-04T14:00:54Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Don’t comment on my items. Just ring them up and bag them. > > Joe And don’t comment on my using an EBT card. Some very nice people go through bad times. > [@chizzuk](#): > > –Express Lane 15 Items or Less means just that. You cannot count 10 boxes of Froot Loops as one item because they are all cereal. And while renting the Rug Doctor is technically only one item, the amount of paperwork involved violates the spirit of “express lane.” Please stop. Anyone who pulls that shit when I am on line behind them will get a very loud running commentary on their inability to read, count and follow the rules. And the cashier will get on on allowing people to pull that shit. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/152 "2011-08-04T14:38:29Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > And don’t comment on my using an EBT card. Some very nice people go through bad times. > > Anyone who pulls that shit when I am on line behind them will get a very loud running commentary on their inability to read, count and follow the rules. And the cashier will get on on allowing people to pull that shit. Unfortunately, getting on the cashier is pointless. They are usually told not to say a word when people have an overage of items on the express lane. Leave the poor cashier out of it. Generally he/she isn’t permitted to turn the person away. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/153 "2011-08-04T14:46:16Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > So when they’re going through the aggregate data, they see that sexually active males with smoking habits and poor self esteem, weight issues and small penises also get a lot of body aches (ibuprofen purchases). The next time you scan your card, you might get half a dozen coupons for Ben Gay muscle rub, nicotine patches, chemically activated ice packs that don’t need to be frozen, $2 off a subscription to “Self Help” magazine, and Kimono condoms (size extra small). It’s not just that you buy a lot of vitamin water, the goal is to create a whole profile of you and who you are and what you buy, so they can try and sell you more things, and different things. And all of that information is tied to your phone number, your name, date of birth, and your address. So suddenly it’s not as benign as it seems. I guess the point of this “debate” is that some people care and some don’t. Personally, I love them tracking my purchases and giving me discounts. While dieting last year I was using an OTC product that cost 70 dollars per month. It was no cheaper elsewhere. After the first purchase, once a month I received a coupon for 10 dollars off that product. I also receive a percentage of my purchases back each quarter and “extra bucks” coupons to use that reduce prices further. Yesterday I used a coupon for two dollars off any two shampoos, (my preferred brand on sale for buy one get on 50% off already) one dollar off excedrine, (on sale for 2 for 4 for the 24 count) five dollar extra bucks and a 35% coupon for all regular priced items. I left with two bags of merchandise and paid just over five dollars total. CVS can track me anytime. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Dord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@The\_Dord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Dord)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/154 "2011-08-04T16:49:17Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Day time stockers drive me batshit, especially in stores that are open 24 hours. If I decide I need beer and tortillas at 2 AM, then I guess I’ll deal with the inconvenience of forklifts and what not blocking aisles. But if I’m trying to get my Special K with Strawberries at fucking 1 in the afternoon the damned cereal aisle better not be blocked. Man I hated that too when I was stocking at my local grocery retail store, at least I had the courtesy of putting skids and l-carts out of the way (on the side, next to the shelf spaces that wasn’t being shopped over). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/155 "2011-08-04T18:45:09Z")
I once got a notification of a food recall printed out on my grocery receipt because they knew I’d purchased the item in question, due to my using a shopper’s card. I mean, those five jars of Spaghetti-Os (don’t judge me) probably wouldn’t have killed anyone anyway, but I wouldn’t have known about the recall without the notice on my receipt. Yes, I know that’s not what the shopper’s cards were originally meant for, but it’s a nice little side bonus. And I don’t care about the targeted ads either. I’m going to get ads either way so they might as well be targeted. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/156 "2011-08-04T21:45:30Z")
One of our largest area chains has loyalty cards, but you don’t need one to get a discount. You simply tell the cashier you don’t have one, and they’ll automatically enter a universal loyalty card number. Works for me! Bakery bulk bins? You mean not all bakeries have them? All the supermarket bakeries in my area have them. Or a bulk case 😕 ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/157 "2011-08-04T21:51:37Z")
I don’t even know what a ‘bakery bulk bin’ is. Do you mean the plastic boxes they keep the various flavors of bagels in? ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/158 "2011-08-05T03:40:31Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > I get that you’re confused by the concept of targeted marketing. No one is. > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > You say you don’t give a shit about anybody knowing about the massive quantities of vitamin water you get. Great. But let’s say you have scanned that loyalty card for all of the prescriptions you’ve purchased, all the condoms, yeast infection creams, cigarettes, diet and weight loss pills, ibuprofen, “male enhancement” pills, etc. > > So when they’re going through the aggregate data, they see that sexually active males with smoking habits and poor self esteem, weight issues and small penises also get a lot of body aches (ibuprofen purchases). The next time you scan your card, you might get half a dozen coupons for Ben Gay muscle rub, nicotine patches, chemically activated ice packs that don’t need to be frozen, $2 off a subscription to “Self Help” magazine, and Kimono condoms (size extra small). It’s not just that you buy a lot of vitamin water, the goal is to create a whole profile of you and who you are and what you buy, so they can try and sell you more things, and different things. And all of that information is tied to your phone number, your name, date of birth, and your address. So suddenly it’s not as benign as it seems. This doesn’t sound all that awful. I’d rather see ads for condoms, than, say, tampons. One I don’t use nearly as much as I’d like, but the other has no use for me at all. Seriously, this is the worst case scenario? More targeted advertising please! > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Listen, I’m not some crazy tin-foil paranoid conspiracy theorists. These are data mining companies and their goal is to find out what sells. Evil fuckers. How dare they want to know what sells. Knowing that might actually help them serve their customers better. I hate that. Oh wait, this info will **compel** me to buy (apparently I lack free will). That is evil. > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > If that doesn’t bother you, great. It bothers a lot of people, and the fact that they have become so prevalent that they are artificially jacking up the prices of products so the appearance of “saving” a couple bucks per purchase justifies an intrusion into your purchasing habits and privacy is irritating to many. You have a cite for this? Is this any different to jacking up the prices of products so the appearance of “saving” a couple bucks per purchase that they did before loyaly cards? > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > PS: When I was referring to ads, I was talking about web browsers who inject targeted ads into your browsing that is based on where you have previously visited, as a similar activity that I find intrusive and annoying. When I talked about loyalty cards, I was referring to targeted marketing that occurs as a result of the tracking of purchase histories. Yeah. Not really analogous, are they? > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > I’ll give a personal example of how annoying this is. One time, my mother was in town and wanted to stop by CVS to grab a couple things. I gave her my CVS card to scan when she made her purchase. Turns out she bought a bottle of Beano during her trip. So every week for like _3 fucking years_ I would get a coupon for Beano printed out with my receipt. Apparently the purchase of Beano one time on my card fucked with their algorithm so badly that they assumed I needed it nearly constantly, and were constantly printing coupons for it for years afterward. Yeah, just throw it away, I know. But it was a constant reminder of “we know everything that you’ve ever purchased, ever”. The horror!! Beano coupons on my receipt are the work of the devil! Or it might be. I generally don’t pay much attention to my receipt. I might be missing those evil coupons offered to me. This annoys you? Really? A coupon for something you probably won’t use? Eliminate loyalty cards and you’ll still be receiving a coupon for something you can’t use. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/159 "2011-08-05T03:55:20Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Evil fuckers. How dare they want to know what sells. Knowing that might actually help them serve their customers better. I hate that. Oh wait, this info will **compel** me to buy (apparently I lack free will). That is evil. Listen, I don’t know what beef you have with me over this issue, it’s clear you don’t give a shit and I do, so trying to convince me that they’re doing it “Oh so they can better serve their customers!!!” is a waste of time and incorrect to boot. Their goal is to make more money off you, period. > [@](#): > > You have a cite for this? Is this any different to jacking up the prices of products so the appearance of “saving” a couple bucks per purchase that they did before loyaly cards? I’ve actually posted the cite twice, but you’re clearly not interested in reading it or the portions which I quoted in my posts. So whatever. > [@](#): > > The horror!! Beano coupons on my receipt are the work of the devil! Yeah, because I said that they’re evil. :rolleyes: No, I said it’s annoying. And facilitates them learning how to better exploit their customers in order to sell them more shit. You’re fine with receiving targeted ads because they “help them help their customers more”. I have sat in on corporate discussions for providers of loyalty cards, I can assure you they are not talking about how “awesome it would be if we could just make our customers save more money!”. They’re talking about how people who use cards spend on average 24% more per visit to the store than shoppers who don’t use loyalty cards. And how if they see you buy brand name X product, and offer you a coupon for Store Brand X product, their profit margins will increase by 36% when you likely buy that product instead of the brand next time. They are also not discussing the best ways to safeguard your privacy. > [@](#): > > This annoys you? Really? A coupon for something you probably won’t use? Eliminate loyalty cards and you’ll still be receiving a coupon for something you can’t use. Yeah, it annoys me because I value my privacy and don’t generally like when companies resort to invasive tactics to improve their bottom lines. You obviously don’t give a shit, which is fine. But others have expressed annoyance that it has become standard practice for every store to do this, and I concur, for the reasons I have outlined above. You disagree, fine. But don’t put words in my mouth like I’m some crazy “coupons are evil” person. I have legitimate concerns about it, and don’t like that it is such a ubiquitous practice. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830/160 "2011-08-05T14:04:09Z")
You seem to be missing the fact that marketing is a two-way street. The store wants your money and you want the items you need. If they give me a coupon for something to try it, they obviously think they have a superior or at least similar product to the competition. So, I try it (since it is cheaper for me in the short term). If I like it and it is cheaper than my normal brand, then it is a win-win. They make more money from me and I get to save a little. If I don’t like it, then I won’t buy it next time. And they track your purchases. How evil! They track the purchases of the people who typically buy here so they can keep their stock correctly (which reduces overhead and is how most grocers keep prices down). Since they are tracking the ‘regulars’ (since non-regulars typically don’t have cards) the things you buy every week will be there when you need them. I just don’t get how this is a privacy issue (sign up as a name that is not yours with an address that is not yours). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-grocery-store-complaints/590830.md?page=9)