Why the hell are there TVs in Shaw\'s?

[Dyed_Tie]

Okay, Cori and I were at the grocery store today.  We come up to the check out line and every line (except the computerized express lanes) has 20" flat panel TV on an arm above the conveyor belt.  What the hell is that?

Are we getting that bad that we can\'t watch enough TV at home, now we should watch it when we do mundane tasks.  They\'re already in our cars.  Soon enough we won\'t have to go anywhere without watching TV.  It will truly be a Utopia...
where everyone looks like this -->  :drool:.

Why not market a fishing pole to attach to your head to dangle a TV a foot in front of our faces.  :hair:

[Gfunk]

:drool: mmmmmmmmm TV

seriously though i\'m really tired of all the constant advertising that gets shoved down yer throat on a daily basis.tv commercials are painful :banghead:

[Wolfman]

If you think the TVs at Shaws are bothersome, would it make you feel better to know that artificial intelligence recorded every move you made while you were in the store, including how long you stayed, how you walked the aisles, where you stopped to look and where you kept going, which items you took instantly and which items you compared, which endcaps got a spontaneous purchase out of you, etc., etc.  Well, that happened.  And when you swiped your Shaws card, it took plenty more notes on which items you restocked on, which items you tried for the first time, which items you bought again but switched brands on for a sale, and much, much more.  It also mailed you a personalized advertiser for next week headlined by items you are likely to buy.  And pretty soon, those lovely little screens will be on every aisle, and they will say, "Hi Chris!  Need some beer for that Breakfast show this weekend?"

[Gfunk]

:wah: are you ser?
spooky twilight zone shit right there

[Todd]

Yeah, it\'s pretty sick to think about how much privacy we don\'t have and all the stats various companies and government agencies keep on us.

Next step: computer chips in our brains, so we can watch tv without a tv and recordings of every thing we look at. What was the name of that movie that had cameras tracking everone on every street corner, etc., etc.

[davepeck]

Why the hell are there TVs in Shaw\'s?

there weren\'t during the 6+ years that i worked there. :mad:

hell, the TV in the break room didn\'t even work. bastards.

[FreeSpirit]

personally, I like the fact that there are TV\'s in places where I need to stand in line... I\'d rather watch the Simpsons or the news than the annoying person in front of me taking an hour to unload & bag their products.  

Wolf, if u r correct in the personal records being kept on file, it seems like it would make life easier... I\'d love for stores to send me discounts on items they know I\'m already buying rather than the tons of bulk mailings that I never use!

[Me!]

Why not market a fishing pole to attach to your head to dangle a TV a foot in front of our faces.  :hair:

wait a minut where can I get one of these, I know a million dollar idea when I hear it.

[Wolfman]

are you ser?
spooky twilight zone shit right there

Wolf, if u r correct in the personal records being kept on file, it seems like it would make life easier... I\'d love for stores to send me discounts on items they know I\'m already buying rather than the tons of bulk mailings that I never use!

I\'m not making any of this up.  This technology is not just available, it is commonplace.  In one of my direct marketing classes we took a field trip to the local Stop N Shop to see it all in action.  It\'s amazing stuff.  And that was 3 years ago.  By now they might be using retina-scan and faceprint recognition so they know exactly who you are when you walk in the door, like what they use at the casinos.          

They use your Shaw\'s card to track your purchases and market to you, that\'s what it\'s for!  It is not to hand you free money on sales, believe me  They could just as easily put items on sale to get you to come in and not have any card involved.  They look at what you buy and send you coupons and circulars with discounts not for items that you buy all the time, but for items similar to the ones you already buy and are likely to be interested in trying.  This drives trial and future sales.  

There are massive amounts of data on you being stored and also sold.  They look at how much you spend, how many people you are shopping for and much more. In fact, in 2003 some grocery chains reported that as much as 10% of their total revenue came from sales of data, not food.  For example, a pet store manager who wants to market to local pet owners can call Shaws and buy a list of everyone who bought dog food in the last 30 days.  For a little bit more the pet store owner can get the list specified with things like people who live within 10 miles of his store or people who spend over $50 a month on pet food, etc. etc.  The pet store manager then uses the mailing addresses or emails he bought to communicate things about his store to local pet owners.    

This is the tip of the iceberg.  Database marketing is colossal.  The local liberal running for office buys a list from Whole Foods of people who buy organic food.  The plant nursery buys lists of people who subscribe to Better Homes And Gardens.  The smoke-detector manufacturer buys lists from hospitals of people who have had a family member die of carbon monoxide poisoning in the last 5 years.  The custom landscaper buys a list from Remax Real Estate of everyone within 100 miles who bought at least 2 acres of property in the last year and has a household income of over $100K.  Toad\'s Place might call up DavePeck and buy a list of all .info users within 75 miles of New Haven to tell them about the upcoming jamband show.  I signed up with a gym and a Frisbee league when I moved to Boston and presto, the local shoe store mails me at my new address with deals on running shoes before I\'ve been here for a month.  The info is all out there and being sold every day.  And it all starts with that harmless little Shaw\'s card on your keychain.  

The screens are coming for you!!!

[Me!]

and soilent green is made of people!!!!!!! :jawdrop:
seriously though that\'s some scary shit welcome to 1984 politically sand otherwise

[Dyed_Tie]

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

[davepeck]

wow.. i\'m pretty surprised at how much of a \'secret\' this is.. seems pretty obvious to me.. :idunno:

but yeah, you know those little red and white coupons that print out with your receipt? take a look at them next time - it will most likely be for a competing brand of something you just bought.

[Wolfman]

wow.. i\'m pretty surprised at how much of a \'secret\' this is.. seems pretty obvious to me.. :idunno:

Yeah, I\'m actually surprised that people are surprsied.  Although in fairness, I was pretty f-in blown away when we first started learning about this stuff in marketing classes.  The craziest part is how there are databases for EVERYTHING...you can buy or rent lists of chili-cooking enthusiasts, people over 6\'4" with autistic children, corporate executives who have been to drug rehab...it\'s amazing.

[Me!]

corporate executives who have been to drug rehab...it\'s amazing.

you mean there are some who haven\'t?? :shock2:

[antbach]

my shaw\'s department manager father would be proud to know his store has gotten this much attention :lol: