Imagine you launched a loyalty program and everyone came, then swapped cards. See what Rob's Giant BonusCard Swap Meet is doing to corrupt the records of purchases by club-card holders.
While allowing people to mix up their cards does eliminate tracking of individual purchasing, it does not break the general buying trend information a company can collect. So the question for marketers is how to find a middle way that customers feel comfortable with while helping retailers deal with planning and merchandizing. Listen to the customer, damn it. But, most marketers will probably just try to come up with a "more secure" way of tracking purchases, spending lavish amounts on unnecessary technology that puts them into competition with their customers, who are smarter than they are (because there are a hell of a lot more of them).
Thanks to Cory Doctorow at Boing-Boing for the link.
Posted by Mitch Ratcliffe at October 8, 2003 11:48 AM | TrackBackIn Japan loyalty cards are used to triangulate purchases for returns. If you have the loyalty card, and the merchandise for return the store then looks up the purchase and can handle the refund or replacement. Since Japan is mainly a cash economy, the techniques allows customers to handle returns without even showing identification. In fact, most cards don't even track the customers personal information (name, etc.), only their purchase behaviors.
Other technology factors are in play with loyalty cards in Japan. Some merchants and restaurants have cards that show point values earned from purchases. The cool factor is that the point value is printed on the card and when you purchase something, the merchant swipes your card and the point value is erased and rewritten.
If merchants in the US would start integrated consumer value into loyalty card programs (beyond discounts on inflated price merchandise), patrons would likely be less inclined to try and fool the merchant. Additionally if merchants would wise up and go generic with their patron tracking they would likely gain more creditability with customers.
Posted by: robert reddick at October 9, 2003 05:15 PM