Shopping Data

[Bilbo]

Apologies if this is posted elsewhere.

I was just thinking if there was a breakdown in the food chain be it that the powergrid is down for long period, or its a SHTF event etc and people run out of food.
Could governments obtain shopping data from supermarkets, in particular data on those that could be considered as hoarders and then visit and confiscate said hoarded goods. (supermarkets keep data on you using nectar cards and the like)

My point is, if this is so should people buy smaller amounts to stockpile rather than signpost themselves by buying 10KG bags of stuff. I'm presuming the TPTB would start with traders and then turn to the man on the street.

Just a thought for you to mull over.

Cheers

[pseudonym]

Depends if you buy it all in one go or spread it out over several purchases, months and stores

Besides if the SHTF, I am sure the Government has better things to do then come after my (alledged) 25 Kg of Rice

Better bring a shovel as well

[Attack Warning Red]

If you're worried, pay with cash...

[redskies]

It's not credit cards that are the problem. Or, rather, they're a very small part of the problem. It's the store loyalty cards and points cards and home delivery cards. These transactions, cash or DD or CC, are linked to your name and processed centrally. That's how supermarkets know what vouchers to send you. Whenever you use a store card or loyalty card, whether it's a supermarket or a clothes shop, as long as it's a national chain, that information is processed centrally. I wish I could remember the name of the place; it processes about 100k of transactions an hour and collates information about who is buying what, where and when and how too.

So yes, that information is available.

[nickdutch]

I think they would use the data to work out where to allocate food resources, so it might be better not worse to buy in bulk your food items and as a result increase the data for the local shops. Just like academic departments look out for funding and try and keep active to get funding, supermarkets run by local store managers will want to keep their shelves stacked.

[Attack Warning Red]

...I didn't think it needed saying, but obviously it does. Don't use a loyalty card.

[redskies]

No standard credit card, loyalty card, store card or home delivery card here. I have a bank account on sufferance, because I worked for a charitable trust up until a couple of years ago and they insisted that they pay me by cheque. I don't use it now - in fact, I used it so little then, since I got paid quarterly, that their fraud department had hysterics if I used the debit card online!

Funnily enough, I don't get much junk mail either. Maybe three or four bits per year.

[broke prepper]

If your worried just cancel your nectar card and store card,personally I don't think its worth the effort of collecting all the different tokens for the ridiculously low amount of discount you get here in the UK

[redskies]

I think they would use the data to work out where to allocate food resources, so it might be better not worse to buy in bulk your food items and as a result increase the data for the local shops. Just like academic departments look out for funding and try and keep active to get funding, supermarkets run by local store managers will want to keep their shelves stacked.

I wish I could believe that, but I don't. A year ago, both of our local supermarkets stopped stocking my favourite coffee. I asked around my friends, it was still on the shelves in their area, but not here. And it wasn't as if they weren't selling it; they couldn't keep the stuff on the shelves! OH would buy a tray of it every week when the special offers were on. Yet it was off the shelves, and despite my ringing head office, it stayed off the shelves for a year.

The vouchers and all the rest of it are designed to get you to buy whatever it is that the shop wants you to, rather than to let you buy what you want.

[Prepsicola]

I think if it was to get to that stage the government are just as likely to look at people who don't leave a paper trail... wondering what they've got to hide.
So if you have a loyalty card which shows a pretty normal household spending pattern, and then do some cash transactions elsewhere, you look more like one of the sheeple, and are more likely to be left alone.

I have had a little bit of a glimpse into ambient food supply chains (as I worked for a supplier to most of supermarkets and high street retail). Even though they have all this data, they don't have the manpower to use it - they even get many of the suppliers to monitor the stock levels for resupply. They save themselves more money by making the supplier do the work, so saving themselves more staff wages - so fewer people at head office able to help the government find any hoarders.

I wonder if it would be more likely a government would take it over and use the system to distribute supplies in future - ie issue everyone a card, then use the card like a ration book - only allowing you to buy/collect so much per week, and only with a card.