Supermarkets Planning Personalized Coupons For Loyal Customers

Just in case Danny Meyer's customer coding program doesn't give you the chills, it seems like more and more places are tracking your purchases.

The New York Times reports that grocery chain Safeway has launched a personalization program this summer for its loyalty card members. The chain is reportedly creating personal offers for individual shoppers, based on their past consumer habits.

This tracking is similar to the Target customized advertisements (with the scary story of how the program actually revealed a teen's secret pregnancy). As of now, this just means lower prices for loyal customers, depending on whether or not they tend to buy certain products. These deals also work to get customers to buy more.

"[Safeway and Kroger's] are creating specific offers and prices, based on shoppers' behaviors, that could encourage them to spend more: a bigger box of Tide and bologna if the retailer's data suggests a shopper has a large family, for example (and expensive bologna if the data indicates the shopper is not greatly price-conscious)," The New York Times reports. 

And while you may be wary of any more grocery stores reading your inner secrets through your purchases, "personalization is really a consumer desire right now, not so much a consumer fear," Michael R. Minasi, president for marketing at Safeway, told the Times. At least your weekly groceries might get a tad cheaper.

(Photo Modified: Flickr/JeremeyEades)