How Companies Learn Your Secrets

ronjor · Feb 17, 2012

By CHARLES DUHIGG

The desire to collect information on customers is not new for Target or any other large retailer, of course. For decades, Target has collected vast amounts of data on every person who regularly walks into one of its stores. Whenever possible, Target assigns each shopper a unique code — known internally as the Guest ID number — that keeps tabs on everything they buy. “If you use a credit card or a coupon, or ﬁll out a survey, or mail in a refund, or call the customer help line, or open an e-mail we’ve sent you or visit our Web site, we’ll record it and link it to your Guest ID,” Pole said. “We want to know everything we can.”
Click to expand...

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html

Pinga · Feb 18, 2012

Also linked to your Guest ID is demographic information like your age, whether you are married and have kids, which part of town you live in, how long it takes you to drive to the store, your estimated salary, whether you’ve moved recently, what credit cards you carry in your wallet and what Web sites you visit. Target can buy data about your ethnicity, job history, the magazines you read, if you’ve ever declared bankruptcy or got divorced, the year you bought (or lost) your house, where you went to college, what kinds of topics you talk about online, whether you prefer certain brands of coffee, paper towels, cereal or applesauce, your political leanings, reading habits, charitable giving and the number of cars you own.
Click to expand...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Log in or Sign up

How Companies Learn Your Secrets

ronjor Global Moderator

Pinga Registered Member

Log in or Sign up

How Companies Learn Your Secrets

ronjor Global Moderator

Pinga Registered Member

Useful Searches