Tesco’s chief executive said that it could use Clubcard data in order to alert shoppers when they purchase too many unhealthy products. The head of Britain’s largest supermarket has said that he expects to use artificial intelligence to monitor the way customers shop to “nudge” them into making healthier decisions.
Ken Murphy, a Tesco spokesperson, said: “I’ve seen it nudging me, saying, ‘look, over time I’ve noticed that your sodium salt content in your basket is 250pc your daily recommended allowance. I’d recommend that you replace this, this, and this with lower sodium products in order to improve your cardiovascular health.”
He called it “very simple” and said that “it could really improve people’s lives”.
This suggestion will likely delight health campaigners, who have warned that unhealthy food is driving an expensive obesity crisis which is impacting on the NHS. The Institute for Public Policy Research called for an increase in taxes on unhealthy food such as chocolates and biscuits this week to discourage consumers from purchasing them.
Privacy campaigners are concerned about the idea that Tesco might try to influence personal choices. Jake Hurfurt said that Big Brother Watch’s head of research, Jake Hurfurt: “It’s astounding that Tesco CEO wants to use these data to tell us what to do with our lives.
He said: “Mr Murphy’s comments should alarm all and serve as proof that loyalty card schemes rely on mass surveillance of customers. Tesco does not have the right to judge what is in our baskets, or tell us what we should be buying.
Last year, NatWest sparked a backlash when it began telling its customers to stop eating beef and drive electric cars after calculating their carbon footprint. At the time, the bank claimed that this was an optional feature. Tesco said it did not have any plans to implement a policy of nudges. The company could intervene through emails or messages sent at the checkout.
Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket, holds almost a third share of the UK grocery industry. Clubcard, the supermarket’s loyalty program launched in 1995, is used by more than 20 million people. It offers customers better deals. Tesco’s suggestion that it could use Clubcard information to encourage customers to make healthier choices in future comes after regulators urged supermarkets to do better to combat obesity in the UK.
The government will introduce rules in 2022 that require grocers move their junk food from the most visible parts of their store, such as near entrances or checkouts.
Sir Keir is planning a series more interventions in public health to save the NHS. is a proposed ban on energy beverages for children aged under 16. It will be presented to Parliament in the next month. Critics warn that Britain is on its way to becoming a “nanny-state”.
Mr Murphy, who spoke at the FT Future of Retail Conference Tuesday, suggested that AI could be used to improve Clubcard shoppers’ shopping experience. It could be that Tesco is preparing an offer for their customers, which could result in a cheaper shop.
Mr Murphy stated that the goal was to make customers feel like “Clubcard literally does their job for them, and makes their lives easier.”
The comments are in response to the growing concern about how supermarkets use their data and the extent to which they collect it through their loyalty programs.
In addition to using data from loyalty cards to customize offers, supermarkets increasingly sell the information to third-parties. According to estimates, Tesco and Sainsbury’s make £300m per year by selling their own data.
The “insights”, which are anonymous, are used to create archetypal customer profiles that give businesses an idea about what people are interested in.
Tesco said that it “does not sell or share any customer data individually and we take our responsibility regarding the use of data very seriously”.
Sainsbury’s spokesperson said previously that it does not sell customer data, but allows companies to “use our platform” to display relevant ads to customers based on anonymised audience segments.
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