>Interesting that, with the help of some data mining,
> grocery stores would already have
>a very accurate record of what we buy, when we buy it,
> how much, and how often. I don't know about you all
> but we use the same grocery store every week.
Same here. Interesting that they don't do anything
about it. Yeah, they send some coupons after one
spends $500. Half of these coupons are products I never bought
before and never will. However, couple of interesting
observations:
- Why send coupons for the stuff you buy frequently?
You'll buy it anyway for an inflated price.
The much better thing is to send you "worthless" coupons
for things that you won't buy *and* 5%-off certificate
*after* you spend $500. This rewards shopping at the
store, but does not decrease the margins. Note that
this strategy is not applicable for infrequent-visit,
non-monopoly retailers such as clothing stores in
larger malls. Another interesting thing - the
party that is most interested in your shopping
list is the competing grocery store that you never visit.
Then they could offer you "free peanut butter every day
you spend $50". Espionage rules. :-))))
- Funny thing, my taste is so unconventional that
the grocery store discontinued two items I bought
every time I came there. Now, this is a bad
move, because it may force me to change grocery
chain.
Finally an axiom of spycraft relevant
to data mining applications: "The best
counterintelligence is human laziness and stupidity".
Cheers
Jurgis |
