Targeting the grocery shopper: the laser scanner and the mag-striped card are altering grocery marketing

Article Abstract:

The laser bar-code scanner and the computer allow a supermarket to track what sells and what does not, but until recently, information about who is doing the buying was missing. Now, mag-striped cards combine a name with information about purchases. Such cards are a way for a store to offer 'electronic coupons,' which save money for a shopper and build customer loyalty for a store. Moreover, a system can generate information about the demographics of a store's customers, and such data can be shared with the food vendors who supply the store and share the cost of the program. Some stores offer cards that automatically debit a bank account when a customer makes a purchase. Some people are uncomfortable about the implications for personal privacy of 'electronic marketing' programs.

Author: Kleinfield, N.R.
Grocery stores, Research, Retail industry, Retail trade, Grocery industry, Privacy, Marketing, Supermarkets, Technology application, Chain stores, Marketing research, Market research, Bar code scanners, Product coding, Coupons (Retail), Discount coupons, Electronic marketing, Retailing, Barcode/Mark Reader

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The man with all the numbers

Article Abstract:

Phone Disc USA Corp's co-chairman James Bryant plans to put US telephone directories on CD-ROM after the US Supreme Court ruled that those directories are not protected by Federal copyright laws. Bryant believes that the traditional form of publishing telephone directories is wasteful; it takes one tree to publish 100 phone books. Phone Disc USA believes that its products, which have hitherto been limited because of litigation surrounding telephone directory copyright, will become widely accepted. Phone Disc USA's CD-ROM discs allow users to access telephone numbers via their microcomputers. The CD-ROM sells for $1,850 for two disks that contain about 90 million names nationwide; $995 each for names east of Mississippi and west of Mississippi.

Author: Kleinfield, N.R.
Prerecorded records and tapes, Analysis, Management, Microcomputers, Product information, Design and construction, Information management, Directories, Databases, CD-ROM, CD-ROM disks, Database, Telephone directories, Microcomputer, Marketing Strategy, Bryant, James, PhoneDisc USA Corp.

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Study Clears Way For 900 New Cabs; Fares May Increase

Article Abstract:

NYC's Taxi and Limousine Commission has issued its report that proposes increasing 900 taxis to the city's fleet during the next three years. NYC now has 12,187 taxicabs. Despite concern over increased traffic, the city would welcome the additional revenue.

Author: Kleinfield, N.R.
Commodity & service prices, New York, Economic aspects, Prices and rates, New York, New York, Taxicabs, Company pricing policy

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