Wal-mart Knows

I was standing in line at the returns counter at Wal-Mart and I noticed a huge shelf full of simalac against the wall right there at the returns counter.

If this were another store I might decide that they received a shipment of simalac and didn't have any where else to put it.  But this is Wal-Mart and nearly everything is by design when it comes to product placement.  So I ask myself.  Are "new" mothers more likely to return items to Wal Mart?  While I haven't seen the research I'd have to say that new mothers must be the most likely demographic to return items, (because it seems that someone at WalQuarters has already made this determination).

The implications of this decision imply quite a bit more if you think about it a bit more.   For example.  The only information that you provide them is your credit card number and possibly your zipcode.  However if they keep your credit card as an identifier and then store all the items which you purchase then they know quite a bit more.

If I buy pretzels and beer and never buy socks then maybe I'm a college kid.

If I buy diapers, milk, eggs only.  I might be a husband sent on an errand.

If I buy diapers, milk, eggs and a bunch of other stuff.  I might be a mom.

I could go on but you get the idea.   Walmart's research probably doesn't put us into distinct classifiable categories such as this.  Because it's much easier to simply see correlation between products which are purchased together and products which are not purchased together without the additional burden of stereotyping your shoppers.

At the moment, I'm kind of on the fence about privacy.  If Walmart and others can figure out what type of person I am by what I buy and arrange the store accordingly then more power to them.

But at the same time...  

If we are what we eat.  (and walmart knows what we eat).  Then Walmart knows what we are.

and that in itself is a little disturbing.