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Online Coupons Tell Retailers a Lot About You

by Terrence O'Brien on April 20, 2010 at 09:25 AM


Those online coupons you print out could be sharing more info with retailers than you'd expect. Companies like RevTrax are producing Web coupons that pass along data, such as search terms and your Facebook profile, to retailers, and often without any warning.

Companies as diverse as Lord & Taylor, Ruby Tuesday and Filene's Basement are using information-gathering coupon programs not only to lure shoppers, but also to collect valuable information about consumer habits. By tracking what search terms led a customer to them, a company can make important decisions about how to spend their advertising dollars.

Of course, some of the more intrusive aspects -- such as tying search data to information like Facebook profiles and IP addresses -- has set off alarms with privacy advocates. Ed Mierzwinski, of the United States Public Interest Research Group, told the New York Times that his group has asked the Federal Trade Commission for tighter rules on online advertising.

We're used to retailers tracking anonymous shopping habits and search terms, but even we're freaked out about unwittingly displaying our Facebook profile the next time we try to buy a sweater. [From: New York Times]

Tags: coupon, coupons, privacy, retail, socialnetworking, top

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