Shoppers Like Grocery Loyalty Cards Despite Privacy Worries
Consumers worry that marketers have too much personal data, but that doesn’t keep them from using supermarket loyalty cards, according to a Boston University study.
Consumers are dismayed by their general lack of privacy, but they’re more likely to blame the government than grocers.
The survey of 515 cardholders found that 56% of respondents worry that the government has too much influence in their daily lives, and 52% think that companies know too much about them. That may include grocers, but 41% said, “so many companies keep a record of me that I am not concerned with the grocery store doing it, too.”
Most shoppers (72%) know that grocers use loyalty cards to track household purchases. More than half (52%) knew it before they got their card; 20% found out later. (Surprisingly, 28% of respondents didn’t know grocers use cards to track purchases until they took the university’s survey.)
But 65% of all respondents say their loyalty card is beneficial to them despite tracking, and only 16% say they think about purchase-tracking each time their card is swiped.
“The majority of consumers believe that although grocery store loyalty cards allow for tracking of purchase habits, the benefits outweigh the lack of confidentiality. Even those consumers who frequently think about the fact that their purchases are being tracked continue to use their loyalty card,” the study concludes. “Based on these results, we expect that grocery stores will have little reason to rethink their loyalty card practices. Consumer advocacy organizations may be frustrated by the lack of concern among consumers.”
Nearly 90% of shoppers have one or more supermarket loyalty cards (the average is 1.9 cards). Two-thirds (76%) nearly always use their card, regardless of specials or basket size. Eighty percent of coupon-clippers use cards (compared to 70% of shoppers who don’t use coupons), and 91% of shoppers with household incomes over $75,000 nearly always use loyalty cards (compared to 73% of shoppers with incomes under $40,000).
The study was conducted by six Boston University students under the supervision of Professor James McQuivey.
McQuivey knows retail research: He was a VP at Forrester Research before joining the faculty at Boston University.
