August 11, 2004
new church
i mentioned a few days ago that i was going to go look at a new building for cornerstone church. this is the steeple of what used to be marble top baptist church in the southside. currently we're in negotitions regarding a final price in our offer on it. at this point it seems like it could go either way, but it sure would be great to get it. maybe we'd change the name to southie presbyterian church. or maybe first church of the south. more details as things progress.
...
a random thing i've been thinking about: grocery store discount cards. the older i get the more aware i become of how much information various corporations have about individuals and their shopping habits. fast food nation alterted me to this a little bit, but a conversation with emily the other day has got me thinking about these discount cards and how they allow winn-dixie/kroger/yourfavoritegrocerystore to track your purchases and to more precisely target their marketing. not to mention selling your information to various other corporations. maybe i'm paranoid, or maybe i know how easily i'm swayed by good marketing, but suffice to say i try to use my winn-dixie card as rarely as possible. i mean, have you ever noticed how eager the attendants are to swipe your card? even if you're just buying a pack of gum? right now WD will give you a dollar if they forget to ask for your card. weird. oh, and here are some articles about it.
hmm... can't wait for that new coop to open here in chattanooga.
Posted by andy at August 11, 2004 10:07 AMi used to work at cvspharmacy as a pharmacy tech and part of our personal/store evaluation would come from how often we scanned the discount cards. we'd get a report every month of our store performance. i caught wind of stores closing because of low numbers on reports.
Posted by: cat at August 11, 2004 11:35 AMNo Winn Dixie up here in the DC area, but we have a chain called Giant -- for the most part very well-run, well-organized, friendly supermarkets. I grew up around the corner from one and have become quite attached in adulthood, despite knowing that they've long been owned by a Dutch conglomerate. Being poor, I get a lot of the basics at a discount chain that isn't so nice; but I confess, as a 100% red-blooded American male, that I *like* grocery shopping at Giant. I know where all the stores are on my usual travel routes through MD & northern VA, know the store layouts well enough to find things quickly, & so forth. The card, besides being a way to save some money, makes me feel a bit like a member. I scan it myself in the self-serve lane, whether or not I have sale stuff.
Kind of sad, isn't it?
Posted by: Paul B at August 11, 2004 08:25 PMIt is pretty ridiculous that you have to have a card to save money. It's such a great mental game of getting consumers to buy exactly what the store wants you to buy.
Next up on the advertising technology front is billboards that change according to the type of consumers driving by. A radio signal will be transmitting from your car radio what type of consumer,for example, alot can be said about what type of conusmer you are by whether you listen to NPR or a country radio station. The billboard will change as you drive by depending on the logistics of the consumers around it. Could get kinda scary depending upon what you buy.
At least you don't have to deal with Price Chopper's retinal implants, and that radio transmitter they make you swallow is no picnic, either.
Posted by: Phil at August 12, 2004 08:47 AMDo you think the cards are to get you to buy what they want you to buy? Yes, it's called stuff that's on sale. That is not anything new.
I think their initial purpose was to create store loyalty. The first store to come up with this idea probably just wanted people to feel like they were in an exclusive club. All the stuff they were going to put on sale anyway you then needed the card for.
Lately I've started to believe in incompetence more than elaborate schemes to control your mind. I don't give corporations or the government that much credit.
Posted by: Joel K at August 12, 2004 02:38 PMI'm sorry for all you guys in Chatt with limited grocery options. I love going to Aldi, whole foods, and my super Kroger. There are good reasons for living in a parking lot jungle. Especially if that parking lot is connected to a Whole Foods.
Posted by: Katie at August 12, 2004 02:43 PMHere, here, Katie! I can't wait to get back to my choice of organic whatever I want and homeopathic meds around the corner. If you wanna go cheap, you go cheap. If you wanna go specialized, you do that. I love the choices in the cities.
Posted by: lynnp at August 12, 2004 02:59 PMPublix is the ultimate shopping experience. There is no better grocery store, hands down. (Although does Trader Joe's count? I might have to eat those words) I have yet to find a "Sam the fish man" at any of the groceries here in Chatty. And my ears are being tickled by a rumor that Publix is buying out Bi-lo. Could it be? This world may be getting a little better.
Posted by: nutmeg at August 12, 2004 03:57 PMpublix buying bi-lo? perhaps...
Posted by: andy at August 12, 2004 04:22 PMSo there's this place all over L.A. called 99 Cents Only...it's the greatest store.
Basically, they have buyers that negotiate with the big chains for items that aren't selling, buy them on the cheap, and sell them for a buck.
Everything's a buck, so you'll never hear "Pricecheck at register five!" And you can get everything from carwax to bacon.
Better still, it's not owned by the Dutch conglomerate Ahold. It was actually started by some quasi-socialist-type, but now it's publicly-held (NYSE: NDN) and in 2002 had a "sales-per-sellable foot (of retail space)" of $309. Just imagine: you have a little shop, say 30 x 30 feet...for the year you'd have sold a little over 278K items...pretty decent.
And perhaps best of all, no discount card needed.
What's funny is to all of the BMWs in the parking lots of these stores...interesting implications for demographics.
Posted by: Rick at August 13, 2004 07:47 AMWait... did I say "retinal" implants? That's not quite right.
Posted by: Phil at August 13, 2004 08:45 AMDid you mean rectumal implants?
Posted by: Joel K at August 13, 2004 09:54 AMFor a good laugh read this spoof on shopping information gathering from Rob Cockerham.
PS say hello to Mr Cross and Mr Huffine over there at Coptix. Hope you guys are liking your new digs.
Posted by: Rob Hatch at August 25, 2004 02:11 PMOmg thats right! Please come see me and my friends! ;)
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