are you ser?
spooky twilight zone **** 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!!!