I actually wouldn't mind that. Better than it spitting out coupons for diapers when you don't even have kids. But I think my household would confuse those things. We get both soy/regular milk products, healthy/junk food, and other than us all liking pasta, there's not much food overlap between us.

I will not give a company access to my personal information in order to save a few pennies. Period. Huge invasion of privacy.

I get coupons from Kroger, and it's nice to get ones I can actually use. Of course I usually forget to bring them and use them, but that's another story.

I'm tired of big business's games. I try to avoid processed food and cleaners and look for food locally or buy in bulk. Offer nutritious products at a fair price with friendly service and maybe I'll reconsider.

It doesn't bother me at all. You don't have to give them anything that's not easily accessible in order to sign up. I believe the Kroger card application just asked for name and address, maybe phone number. I like getting coupons for stuff we buy (like Kashi, Morningstar Farms) that you rarely see coupons for in the newspaper.

I've always found the supermarket discount cards to be creepy and I've never signed up for one. But this bothers me on a whole different level. I think it's the lack of transparency that bothers me. It's one thing to have a coupon for $1 off a product with a clearly labeled price, or to have a set discount if you use your card that's clearly stated. But the idea that some algorithm decides that I should pay 25% more than the next person based on my shopping habits really bothers me. It just seems wrong to me and it would be enough to make me avoid these stores all together.

I'm pretty sure Fresh Direct does this. They have my buying history, obviously, which is all they need to customize what I see when I log in. The "Your Favorite!" tag comes up a lot and I get bulk deals. It's good (I save some $) and bad (I'm being tracked by a business). But it's worth it to me to have someone else haul the heavy stuff to my apartment.

I enjoy better ads and coupons. We're bombarded with them anyway so why not encourage meaningful ones? I'd rather be given coupons that I can use rather than ones that I toss and just fill up landfills with. And I don't see it as an invasion of privacy as I would offer that sort of info to just about anyone who asked. "I like this milk, this cheese, these tampons.." It's no big deal.

Yet one more reason why I love Costco and Aldis--one awesome price for everyone, no sales, no gimmicks. I've barely set foot in a regular grocery store in two years, aside from the random rotisserie chicken or $1/box loss leader cereal sale.

I don't see it as an invasion of privacy--like another poster, I like the fact that they tailor coupons and deals to me. And using the customer-loyalty card has saved me lots of money over the years.

A while back, our local A&P offered ten percent off a future order for every $X you spent. You'd get an additional ten percent every time you reached the spending limit. We ended up with coupons worth 40 percent off our total order. Went to the store one day, and grabbed two shopping carts, filling them with everything we thought we could use (lots of non-perishables, paper products, cleaning products, etc). I think we ended up saving about $400. Not bad.

The trouble I run into with coupons is that they are nearly always for products that I just never buy.

I'm not a food snob. I just personally don't purchase pre-made stuff or processed foods. I find that in my area at least, ironically, Whole Foods has the cheapest staple items, even sometimes over the sale prices at bigger chain stores. Last weekend, I got a package of butter for nearly 50 cents cheaper than the sale price at another chain known for it's "low prices."

Sure, if I went to the hot bar or deli, I'd walk out of there a hundred bucks poorer. But I do think sometimes it's worth looking around to find the best prices on staples since that's what we keep in our fridge and pantry most and it really ads up if you're over-paying. I've learned that the best deals aren't really always where you expect to find them. And that sometimes that means going to a few stores.

Even if you don't sign up for a store's customer loyalty program, your purchases are still being monitored at the bigger stores using your (non-store) credit card info. There was a big article in the NY Times Magazine about how Target has the program down to a science - they can tell a woman is pregnant before she has told anyone, based on her increase in purchases of body lotion, among other things.

I personally don't mind the specialized coupons from Target. I'll take the savings, thank you very much!

What bothers me is that grocery stores in the same chain vary their prices on identical items based on the neighborhood in which the store is located.

They just rolled this out in the safeway i ususally shop at about 2 months ago. Its OK. Most of the coupons are for processed junk, but there are some good ones too for pantry staples and occasionally stuff in the meat, dairy, produce and bakery sections. I haven't noticed it really saving any more money than I use to tho. It is nice that because they are tailoring to my buying history i am finding I dont have to shop around as much as I use to, like hitting up 2 different stores because they are having sales on different things i buy a lot of.

@LanaAnn, hear, hear, yes & amen

IF my card were generic (i.e. not attached to my name) and coupons were based solely on my previous receipts tracked by a number, I'd be all for it. As it is, it's a HUGE invasion of privacy. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll stick w/my clipped coupons or do without. This is precisely why I NEVER use a credit card for anything but the rare major purchase. And then only for the added protection it offers. I'll stop there before this becomes a rant.

I like getting coupons in the mail that I'll actually use. So many coupons you can clip are for processed foods, which I really don't eat a lot of. When I get my Kroger coupons there are always 2 for something free, there are coupons for purchases in the produce and meat department, and there are coupons for Kroger brand items. There are also usually 2-3 coupons for something else I might like but don't currently buy.

The other day I got an Kroger brand item that I found to be lacking (there should be fruit in fruit yogurt, just saying) and I went to the website and emailed in a complaint about it. Just like that I got $5 linked to my card for my next purchase.

And for those who think it's an invasion of privacy, well, you;d be shocked at how many companies have detailed information on you already. Every time you use a credit card to make a purchase it's tracked.

I also wonder why people think it's such a big deal that Kroger knows I like cheese.

I don't mind it at all. So, they have my name and an old address and phone number. Whatever-- I give that type of information out all the time. It's nice to get coupons for items that I actually buy. I get printouts at my local Shaw's for bananas, apples, eggs, etc. Way better than the coupons for junk like Hot Pockets and Lucky Charms that you used to have to cut out of the newspaper inserts.

@ENIDB -- I was going to post a nearly word for word comment. Glad to know it's not just me!

As a person who works for the department that works in concert with the company responsible for this for the Kroger company, I can shed a little light on how we are using this: it's an opt-in system for personalized pricing, however the coupons are tied to a loyalty card number and address, not an individual (one card/card number per household). Products purchased using a Rewards card are currently tracked by category only to provide to those customers who have chosen to provide personal information to the company in conjunction with their Rewards card. Those customers receive coupons for use at the store of their choice (although they can be used at any store).

There's information about our privacy policy here.

@therapizeme....

YES! I just noticed this too because I tend to use the same stores, but sometimes vary the town because of what other things I am up to. Case in point, I was vising my friend in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, milk was 1.89 for a half gallon. I went to a park in the Renton area and stopped by to pick up something for dinner and a few things since I was there. the same half gallon was 2.29! Same store chain... different pricing. I've also noticed that the more working class an area, the higher the price for simple basics, AND a lack of variety ESPECIALLY in the area of produce and healthy food options. No wonder people think that its hard to eat healthy when stores discriminate like this.

I shop at a Safeway store (called Dominick's here in Chicagoland) and I LOVE that they personalize my coupons! On top of saving me money, it saves time! I just go online to add all the coupons to my reward card so there is no perusing ads or cutting. They also allow me to add Target & Jewel coupons as well since they will price match them.

They do offer lots of coupons but always show the "Items You Buy" ones first. If you use a store rewards card already, there is no other information that they need. All you have to remember if to go online and add the coupons to your card before you go to the store. Not near a computer? There's an app for that :)