Thursday 11 July 2013

Loyalty Cards - to have or not to have?

It was with great interest that I recently read an article about loyalty cards and 'data-mining' on a great new blog find that a Down to Earth forum  member recommended. The blog is called Beyond the Trolley  and you can read the article here.


 
The title of the article was 'How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did'. It is an interesting read and explains how stores can build up a profile of a person based on what they buy when they go through their checkouts. It is rather scary though I must admit.
 
Usually any loyalty cards I own sit in a drawer at home and are rarely if ever used apart from my Spotlight and Lincraft cards which are given a workout when fabric sales are on so that I can add to my fabric stash to make clothes for my little granddaughters.
 
 
Up until this year I had resisted the loyalty cards from Woolies and Coles but eventually joined up out of curiosity to see just exactly what they offered.



 

 
 I was hoping I might earn some Frequent Flyer points which would help a little with the cost of flying with QANTAS twice a year to see these cute little vegemites. However, I think I would only have enough points to fly to the next suburb... if that!
 
So, I wonder what kind of profile the big supermarkets have built up based on the products I have bought in the past. I don't buy soap or cleaning products or cheap milk or margarine.....hmmm that's just for starters! Thankfully we live in a town where we can buy cheaper fruit and vegetables as well as quite a few other necessities from a couple of our local fruit shops so shopping at the supermarket can be kept to a minimum. However, as Jennifer says in her blog I mentioned before, 'Big Brother is watching so show him what kind of world you want!' 
 
I would love to know what you thought of the article. Do share!
 



8 comments:

  1. I admit to having a Spotlight card [and use it too frequently!], and a few for clothing outlets, and have occasionally managed to save a considerable amount because of them. Yesterday I was 'talked into' by the shop assistant at Woollies to take one of theirs. Mmmm ... upon arriving home and seeing I needed to register it on line and that the main advantage was Frequent Fliers for Qantas I have tossed it in the fire.
    Retailers are always trying to decide for us what we need to buy, often by slightly underhand methods, and sadly a lot of folk do not see through the subterfuge.

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  2. My local IGA tag gets a regular workout, may even use the points one day. Signed up for the Woolies, whether I ever use it or not is another matter have found the local store is not such a great place to shop anymore. And Spotlight, least said........

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    Replies
    1. Yes Shirley and Deb, the least said about the Spotlight card the better. LOL! I just love it when those $10 vouchers arrive in the mail.

      I had forgotten about the IGA tag as one of our IGA stores used to have them and then was taken over by Coles. One of our other local stores closed down and then a few months later reopened as someone else had bought it but it never occurred to me to ask about a tag. I must look into that.

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  3. Like you I also have a Spotlight card, and like Deb, an IGA card. However the other multitudes sit silently in my wallet, plotting and scheming. I have been thinking about chopping all those faceless cards and enjoying a nice, skinny wallet. Your other commenters voiced my thoughts too. It is like so many other 'little things' that Rhonda talks about where your money leaks away, even though you think you are receiving some extra benefit by spending your hard earned money. Thanks also for your comments on our blog.
    Barb

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  4. Regarding the comments, you're welcome Barb. I always look forward to reading some comments on my blog as sometimes I wonder if I am just 'talking' to myself. I love the photos of Tassie you have taken. Don't freeze while you are there!

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  5. I never fly anywhere so a Flybys card is of no value to me. But the Safeway Rewards card is quite good as we have four vehicles in the family garage and petrol discount is always useful. I recently discovered that if I give my card to the cashier to swipe while she's putting my stuff through, there is discount on some of the products.
    Our chemist has a loyalty card which can add enough up quite quickly for a small purchase.
    The only other loyalty cards I've got are Bakers Delight (free bread after five purchase) and two local cafes (free coffee after the first 10 - I get a freebie every fortnight!)

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  6. I must admit that my Spotlight and McCafe cards get a workout at times. I usually meet up with my sister at McCafe as that suits her routine and we seem to get an awful lot of free coffees which means, of course, that I drink too much coffee!

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  7. I have several loyalty cards and use the supermarket ones the most. I was a loyal Woolworth's shopper until I found out that Coles have a much better loyalty system. I have found a Coles Supermarket in Ballarat that I like. I can even put the cost of the fuel onto the card plus the normal discount from the fuel. When I have 2000 points I cash it in for the $10 reward. I also keep an eye out for the triple points system no matter how much you spend. The one where you have to spend $100 in one hit I usually can't take advantage of bec I haven't spent $100. I would never earn enough either on the Woolworths flying one to fly next door either lol.

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