Target “targets” pregnant women, but that's not all

I read this article and found it interesting to say the least yet uncomfortable that we are “again” so easily identifiable. Apparently, Target assigns an ID number to you/your name when you use a credit card. Of course, they glean certain information from your card. Name, address and who knows what else, and also begin tracking the history of your purchases. I don't know how old the article is since many sites no longer include this information, which is irritating.

shopping.yahoo.com...

“Every time you go shopping, you share intimate details about your consumption patterns with retailers. And many of those retailers are studying those details to figure out what you like, what you need, and which coupons are most likely to make you happy. Target, for example, has figured out how to data-mine its way into your womb, to figure out whether you have a baby on the way long before you need to start buying diapers.”

From the New York Times:

“Target assigns every customer a Guest ID number, tied to their credit card, name, or email address that becomes a bucket that stores a history of everything they’ve bought and any demographic information Target has collected from them or bought from other sources.”

So reading further into the article, a high school student received some coupons for baby items in the mail. Apparently Daddy found coupons addressed to his daughter and went to Target to speak to a manager regarding the mailer. The unaware manager apologized. The manager called the man some time later to apologize again aaaaaaand:

“On the phone, though, the father was somewhat abashed. “I had a talk with my daughter,” he said. “It turns out there’s been some activities in my house I haven’t been completely aware of. She’s due in August. I owe you an apology.”

I always thought it best to use my debit card for purchases but I am beginning to rethink this. I just hate the thought of being tracked regardless of what I am doing. If a business builds profiles on us, just who, where and how secure is their data bank of information? Who owns the information and who is entitled to it? Who is it shared with or sold to? Will there be a central data bank that all government and corporate entities can access at will? Can we delete the data?

So here's a very vague scenario. The medications you purchase could indicate what type of disease or illness you have, possibly marking you for early “elimination”. How much food you buy vs. how much toilet paper you buy, could show “hoarding”. What type of weapons you own by the ammunition you buy AND which ones are registered or not. Those are some of the biggies. So Target stores (I’m sure they are not the only ones performing this data collection) combined with Google, Facebook and your GPS, know everything about you from which bar you frequent, who and where you’re cheating on your spouse with, where your BOL is and how many kids you have and how old they are.

If you have a card at any store they do it. You sign up to save a few bucks and they in turn gather information on their customers to track trends and buying habits.

It's certainly creepy but this is nothing new.

This s extremely disturbing, especially since I shop at target.

Those people chilled by stores’ tracking and profiling them may want to consider going the way of the common criminal — and paying for far more of their purchases in cash.

I found this line exceptionally disturbing? Common criminal? So because i choose to use cash because I don't like credit cards and feel like the only thing my debit card is good for is pulling money out of my banks atm, the only place I don't get charged for fees, I am lumped into the criminal category?

reply to post by calstorm


Yes your labeled as a criminal by some stupid journalist. Who cares? Personally they can track whatever they want, as long as I have my liberties. You wouldn't be able to legally discriminate against someone anyways. This is all about companies competing against each other.

Originally posted by Gridrebel
Apparently Daddy found coupons addressed to his daughter and went to Target to speak to a manager regarding the mailer. The unaware manager apologized. The manager called the man some time later to apologize again aaaaaaand:

He can't talk to his daughter?

Talk about ridiculous over reaction.

Originally posted by Annee

Originally posted by Gridrebel
Apparently Daddy found coupons addressed to his daughter and went to Target to speak to a manager regarding the mailer. The unaware manager apologized. The manager called the man some time later to apologize again aaaaaaand:

He can't talk to his daughter?

Talk about ridiculous over reaction.

“On the phone, though, the father was somewhat abashed. “I had a talk with my daughter,” he said. “It turns out there’s been some activities in my house I haven’t been completely aware of. She’s due in August. I owe you an apology.”

looks like he did talk to the daughter.

I wonder if ObamaCare covers counseling

Most moms I know are spending in cash for groceries and gasoline. It is the only way to stay on a budget. Target's scans your driver's liscence in some states when you buy wine. Even if you look like your're older than fifty. They just seem to want to know who is purchasing it. Cash only basis has been the mainstay for finacially responsible individuals sine the recession and all the bank and credit card fees arrived. It is the only way to maintain control and stay on a budget.

reply to post by Gridrebel


I think it was MSN who did a special on Walmart. The walmart supercomputer rivals the pentagons and is one of the largest in the world.

walmart knows what you buy within 15 minutes. Even if you use cash, it knows the items.

Cash = criminal. Of course they're going to say this..can't get a good database on all the drones if they use cash. So I use cash for almost all purchases - food, clothing, etc...use my card for 1 candy bar. Heh. Let 'em compute THAT.

reply to post by Gridrebel


Add RFID to the mix, and after only a few trips to the store (to allow them to gather the proper data) you will have products that they know you 'need', conveniently shipped to your home, and automatically deducted from your bank account, someday. Imagine...you walk through the store with your rfid chip containing bank card communicating with you rfid chip enabled push cart, that's communicating with products, and the displays. Prices change according to individual customer data (no need to haggle, anymore, as the store already knows the highest price you will pay for said product, and use this info to increase their margin to the highest, while still ensuring the sale), and the database stores everything from frequency of purchase regarding some products like toilet paper, razors, etc. to when you get paid, and your financial situation. No sense in trying to sell a new fangled waffle iron to a broke, unemployed person, right? But, if they already bought syrup, we might as well make their magic shopping cart go bonkers when they get near the frozen waffle section, since he can afford to pay $5 for two boxes of 6.

And, maybe we only want to make the new Justin Bieber CD only available to households containing teen girls with combined parental incomes of $250,000, annually. No sense in wasting his talent on the ghetto kids who can't afford tickets to his shows anyway. In fact, we could market the quality stuff only to the folks that can, and will, pay for it, leaving the factory seconds, and look alike products from China for the folks who will never even know a better product existed, due to their past purchasing/credit/financial history. What a brave new world! LOL

Wow. The future will be so cool. Almost like The Jetson's...or, wait, maybe it's more like 1984. And, maybe the future is not so cool.

Millions of criminals can't be wrong, can they? Pay with cash. Don't use their 'savings' cards, nor their bags, baskets, nor boxes. Cover your face at all times, and never speak aloud while shopping, nor in the parking lot. They are all predatory thieves, and they are hungry for your data. You've been warned. LOL