Privacy for a Price
Published Oct 22, 2013
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Each completed survey netted the company a pretty penny (glad I got paid by the hour, though). Needless to say, this self-reporting was somewhat inaccurate.
Then came loyalty cards. For a fraction of the cost companies were suddenly able to very accurately track their customers' purchasing habits. I estimate that the loyalty cards enable companies to obtain very detailed, accurate data on at least 50-100 customers for the same cost of a single interview back then...
It's not merely your name/address you're selling for a few pennies to each merchant, but your entire, detailed shopping life.