Loyalty / Reward Cards

[PeniG]

Some Americans see Bambi as a subversive threat? That's truly terrifying.[/quote]

Oh, you get used to it. It functions like any other prejudice.

To be absolutely fair to the deer-hunting fraternity, it's based on hurt feelings and a sense of being misrepresented. None of them have read the book - even my friend who reads in the deer blind didn't know it was originally set in Europe - and they interpret the fire as being deliberately set to drive the animals out, which no modern licensed camoflage-wearing rural-based hunter would do. (Even urban-based hunters probably wouldn't, though since they have mini-fridges full of alcoholic beverages in their deer blinds it might just be a matter of time.) Deer hunters feel that their subculture is grossly misrepresented in the movie, particularly by the death of Bambi's mother, and that it fosters an irrational prejudice against them; and pop culture references about evil hunters killing Bambi's mother are sufficiently common that this feeling is not entirely baseless.

That they return this with a virulent and irrational prejudice against environmentalists (I do not know a single environmentalist who is anti-hunting in principle) doesn't occur to them, nor is it generally recognized when pointed out. Like I said - just like any prejudice.

 

[Shoegazer]

Well I use a NEctar card and see nothing sinister about it. Really, what are they going to determine from my buying habits?

The best thing that happened was that my wife often buys my beer on her way home from work. For her birthday Sainsbury's sent her a voucher getting free/money off* beer. Was wicked!

* can't remember

 

[Quake42]

A couple of years ago I was working in the data protection field and I attended a conference where the subject of these loyalty cards came up.

One speaker said that she was aware that insurance companies were keen to tap into the supermarkets' databases in order to determine which customers were good and bad risks (based on the sort of food and amounts of alcohol purchased etc). It hadn't happened at that stage as there were some data protection hurdles to get through, but these were not considered insurmountable.

I have to say that following that conference I ditched my Tesco clubcard and have avoided all loyalty cards ever since

 

[Anonymous]

I have no problem with "them" knowing my shopping habits - I love my Nectar card - in the past few months I've been sent vouchers for free belgian chocs (big boxes!) beer and nappies. I also scan all my shopping when I get home for a market research company - I've amassed enough points for loads of stuff through that - I've got a free highchair and travelcot for the baby, as well as hampers and other Christmas presents for people (it's saved me a fortune this year). What harm can befall me by a stranger knowing which brand of nappies/baked beans I buy?

 

[stu neville]

While I'm in the mood to merge, have spliced the previous Loyalty Card thread with the new one .

 

[Quake42]

Latest from Tesco...

Tesco stocks up on inside knowledge of shoppers' lives

· Crucible database is exhaustive - and secret
· Government bodies are tapped for information

Heather Tomlinson and Rob Evans
Tuesday September 20, 2005
The Guardian


Tesco is quietly building a profile of you, along with every individual in the country - a map of personality, travel habits, shopping preferences and even how charitable and eco-friendly you are. A subsidiary of the supermarket chain has set up a database, called Crucible, that is collating detailed information on every household in the UK, whether they choose to shop at the retailer or not.
The company refuses to reveal the information it holds, yet Tesco is selling access to this database to other big consumer groups, such as Sky, Orange and Gillette. "It contains details of every consumer in the UK at their home address across a range of demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics," says the marketing blurb of dunnhumby, the Tesco subsidiary in question. It has "added intelligent profiling and targeting" to its data through a software system called Zodiac. This profiling can rank your enthusiasm for promotions, your brand loyalty, whether you are a "creature of habit" and when you prefer to shop. As the blurb puts it: "The list is endless if you know what you are looking for."

This publicity material was, until recently, available on the website of dunnhumby, but now appears less forthcoming. Attempts by a number of Guardian reporters to retrieve their own personal information under the Data Protection Act led to a four month battle; the request was ultimately denied so the Guardian has appealed to the Information Commissioner. Tesco has provided some personal data held by Clubcard, the loyalty scheme that monitors members' shopping and which has been credited with fuelling the supermarket group's astronomical growth in the past decade.
But as far as Crucible is concerned, the company admits it has "put great effort into designing our services" so information is classed in a way that circumvents disclosure provisions in the Data Protection Act. Clues about the content of dunnhumby's database have appeared in the company's marketing literature. Crucible, it says, is a "massive pool" of consumer data. "In the perfect world, we would know everything we need to know about consumers. We would have a complete picture: attitudes, behaviour, lifestyle. In reality, we never know as much as we would like." But Crucible, it suggests, has got much further than rival systems by pooling data from several sources and then using the vast Clubcard data pool to profile customers.

Together, Crucible and Zodiac can generate a map of how an individual thinks, works and, more importantly, shops. The map classifies consumers across 10 categories: wealth, promotions, travel, charities, green, time poor, credit, living style, creature of habit and adventurous.

A "Mrs Pumpkin" is cited: she makes pennies work when she shops, mostly uses cash, has a steady repertoire of products but experiments with the new, shops at various times, spends a little more on eco-friendly items, is involved with charitable giving, is rarely away and likes promotions for things she buys.

How does Tesco get the information? Clubcard is used to target promotions at particular cardholders. But Crucible is separate and Tesco insists that while loyalty scheme data is used by Crucible it does so anonymously rather than a house-by-house, name-by-name basis.

Dunnhumby's chairman, Clive Humby, offers a few more clues. Companies such as Experian, Claritas and Equifax have databases on individuals and Crucible collects from them all. Any questionnaire you may have completed, any reader offers you responded to, are bought to build up a picture of attitudes and habits. Crucible also trawls the electoral roll, collecting names, ages and housing information. It uses data from the Land Registry, Office for National Statistics and other bodies to generate a profile of the area you live in. Zodiac is employed to provide a more detailed profile. The combination is valuable to many consumer goods firms: dunnhumby generated profits of £4m on sales of £28m in the last year for which accounts are available. Some £12m of business was done directly with Tesco.

Mr Humby and Edwina Dunn founded dunnhumby. The two have a reputation as shrewd operators in the marketing industry and still own shares in the firm alongside Tesco's majority stake. How the supermarket group and other customers use the data is less clear. One former employee involved in the company's marketing told the Guardian that it can be used to decide how to target offers to individuals or where to open new stores.

A Tesco spokesman said last night: "All work carried out by dunnhumby is regulated by the Data Protection Act and the Direct Marketing Association Code of Practice." But, as the supermarket unveils yet another set of sparkling half-year figures today, one thing is clear: while past success may have been built on the company knowing its customers, Tesco plans to secure its future by knowing everyone else's customers as well.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/stor ... 21,00.html

Get those subject access requests in now!

 

[JamesWhitehead]

A substantial - well long - piece in the Guardian on these things. I never use them and resent queuing behind people who do. However, a poster underneath the article explains how they actually reward disloyalty:

"They can benefit the customer if you know how they work. We were regular customers at Sainsburys until last year when we were out of the country for 2 months. Sainsburys must have thought we'd changed supermarkets because they sent us about £200 worth of money off vouchers to try and 'tempt us back'.

"This year we did swap supermarkets and the same thing happened. I didnt really want to swap back so I gave them to my mother-in-law who used them with my nectar card. When they ran out she stopped using my nectar card and they started sending me more vouchers. I think we've had about £500 worth in total."

Loyalty is probably most expensive in the field of insurance, when the grasping toads you ditched two years ago come back promising new discounts. But I'm not surprised to see the same disincentives to loyalty exposed in the retail market.