by Barry Tadmore

Created on: April 02, 2010

Almost every grocer store now has their own discount club that comes with discount cards that you can use for additional savings when you do the grocery shopping.  It’s easy to look at it as being a great thing for the customers, but grocery stores wouldn’t offer the discount card if it didn’t benefit them as well.  So do any of their benefits conflict with our needs as customers?  Let’s take a look…

PRO – Better deals!  When you look at a gallon of milk and the regular price tag of $2.99, then see the discount card holder price of $2.29, you realize that you save $.70 with that one purchase.  Throughout an entire shopping trip, you’ll end up saving a lot of money.

CON – It’s a scam (to get to the point).  Why should a customer have to sign up for something to get a good deal?  Is there any reason that the average customer should have to pay a dollar more for a tub of ice cream than someone else who might be a member to the club?  The truth is that grocery stores simply want to track your purchases so they can better market to you.  Offering lower prices to entice you to join is the way they can do it.

PRO – Better coupons.  The stores are tracking your purchases and market to every customer individually.  So you will end up getting coupons for things you buy frequently.  Keep your eyes open for those coupons and you’ll be able to save even more!

CON – Lack of privacy.  Some people prefer to be more of an unknown.  Others prefer to have their grocery shopping habits remain private.  After all, what right do these companies have to track our purchases for the intent of future marketing?  If I have a medical issue and I need to buy some medicine for it, why should the management of that store know what I’m suffering from and how I’m treating it?  The again, does it matter too much what these people think of you since you’ll never meet them again?

PRO – It only takes a few minutes to join and you can become a member at all of the grocery stores in your neighborhood.  A benefit to offering the discount card at the stores is that it will increase loyalty among customers.  However, if you’re a member to them all, you will be able to shop more freely based on the better coupons you happen to see in the newspaper that week!

CON – You HAVE to sign up at all the stores.  Sure, you might shop at one store 90% of the time, but you’ll probably use other stores frequently.  And if you aren’t a member at that store, you’ll spend more money than you should. 

Grocery stores only stand to benefit from discount cards.  Whether to track purchases, build demographic information, increase loyalty, or individualize the marketing, they are able to do a lot with the information you give them—both direct and indirect.  But I’ve found that the pros outweigh the cons and it’s worth the hassle to save the extra few bucks.

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