hardly surprising - not really a post

Shocking to almost no consumer, it turns out consumers don't really want to sell marketers their info. Well, more correctly, consumers don't feel the love.

In a less scientific study, being my wallet. I put all the points/loyalty cards I have on one side and moved over the ones I've used recently to the other. And really I've only moved about 3. One of which didn't get me any deals, points to redeem or preferred whatevers.  

your algorithm thinks i'm fat

If you're a Loblaw’s fan you've probably been participating in the new points program aimed at getting Loblaw’s and affiliates a massive amount of information about how you shop and eat.  And if you marry that with a PC MasterCard about how you do just about everything consumable. 

However that's not quite how they positioned it. Something about targeted offers, bonus points and meal and recipe suggestions all FOR YOU. The pay off though, points for free food make it worthwhile. Let's face it everything you do is being tracked anyway so why not get a perk or two.

I'm loyal to Loblaw’s for a lot of reasons - which we've discussed here before.  Among which is proximity to my home and a wide selection of mostly ready to eat things that I can eat without feeling like everything I ingest is takeout.  PC Blue has been a godsend in that at least one thing isn't totally horrible. (Read that fine print. That list is an 'or' list as in whole grain or low fat or low salt)

I know expecting a computer model to interpret complex human decision making processes is, in a word, inane. But I think your algorithm just told me I'm fat.

For the longest time I got recipes(!) - first poor assumption - for things I don't eat or do eat but never at home.  I like barbecued chicken but I don't own a barbecue and for some reason someone always leaves me a bottle of barbecue sauce which since I rarely use eventually gets tossed.

I got that recipe 4 times.

The soup recipe came in a heat wave in July.  I think I can safely say no one wanted soup.

The single steak I bought over the summer when a friend and I rented a cottage and I paid for groceries has resulted in many offers for beef and pork despite having never again purchasing any other red meat.  So the chicken bacon salad suggestion ain't gonna do it either. 

Finally, one day, perhaps after I bought all the ingredients for Turkey Bean chili did I get a winner.

So what can I surmise?  Well at a first blush. Loblaw’s your system needs some tuning.  And some work. Why can't I easily opt out of offers every week so the system can more quickly 'learn' my habits?  That is when I can even get to the site which 75% of the time is off line minutes after you send your weekly e-blast.

And finally why does someone with no cat keep getting offers for cat food?

dear galen weston,

Why am I so faithful to your corporation?  When challenged to write you directly as a tactic for seeking employment I can't help but reflect on my years of loyalty to the Loblaws corporation and wonder why.

I 'sit' on your consumer panel and clearly as a single working adult urban woman with no kids you're not listening.  Your panel consists of asking me to participate in surveys that appear to be written only for a single desired outcome and not to gauge actual consumer interest.  We have never met.  No one has ever responded to my suggestions, which to be bold, I think are pretty useful.  No one has asked what I'd like in a supermarket.

Then again I keep frequenting your establishments.  So I am, in part, to blame for our continued dalliance.

Part is learned behaviour.  Part is convenience.  Part is liking your points program and PC line.  So in some ways you, as Loblaws, have done well in capturing an audience.  But after several decades we appear to be having relationship growth pains.

Urban locations are key to your success of keeping me as a consumer.  But they are also the cause of the strife.  In the smallish town I grew up in yours was the only downtown location.  So my ‘car-free’ family shopped there.  I continued the tradition when I moved to Toronto because by then it was rote.

However of late you miss opportunities to innovate those urban spots, instead pouring money into suburban stores and frankly I'm starting to feel dismissed.

Massive expansions and super stores aren't feasible in tight urban spaces I realize.  But instead of studying the habits of your small urban stores you tried to whack as much as you could in one store narrowing the aisles to almost impassible.  And perhaps I'm in the minority but does a small store really need almost half of the available freezer space for frozen pizza and ice cream?  Seems that space could be used more advantageously.  

PC brand is good and often of quality but your stores lack of a decent selection of ready made fresh food ala Fresh Co and Sobey’s.  If I see another rotisserie chicken with a side of wedge fries, I’ll, well, I just don’t buy them.  What about pasta dishes, baked chicken and fish, bean chili or, whatever else might be easily packaged, to take home and eaten that night?

Urban locations have slowly started to pop up, but why is it so much more expensive at these locations?  Yes I’m paying for convenience but to the tune of almost a $1 per product?

What happened to your almost secret delivery service?  It wasn’t convenient, you had to shop before 5 on a weekday or on Saturday, the day I loathe to be at the grocery store, but at least I could pay to have everything brought to my door and for less than the cost of a cab.  I assume it wasn’t popular because nobody knew about it.  Which leads to my biggest question; why no online shopping?  If you’re not going to set up in easy access locations or offer delivery that’s available after a long workday, then online might be the answer.  You know everything I buy from my points program.  Analyze these purchases and start to assess what you might offer.

You have prime real estate in many cases, probably purchased lucratively in the 70’s and 80’s but they need a reboot.  Broadview for example, and while it would kill me for you to close it to do construction, it set back 40 feet from the side walk for no discernible reason, and that’s without considering the parking lot next door, or building up.

In the end Galen, you, as a corporation, know who I am, as I’ve let you by participating in your points program.  You have a long term fully realized idea of my purchases via my PC credit card – all that data at your disposal to consider and shape a customer profile.  I’ve been loyal and I’ve been paying attention to you, and yet I feel like you haven’t been listening to me.