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I remember reading on HN that some US supermarket [0] could predict pregnancy based on shopping. So they would start sending baby-care products offers before th
by gedrap 13y ago
I remember reading on HN that some US supermarket [0] could predict pregnancy based on shopping. So they would start sending baby-care products offers before the couples found about it. They ceased doing that because people found it just too creepy. Any more remembers more?
[0] a really large one, so that I recognised it's brand while never been outside Europe
- silencio 13y agoThe store was Target. The story was that a teenage girl was buying things there that was indicative of pregnancy and her father found out through the ads they sent her. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.h... http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-targe...
- Houshalter 13y agoIt's simpler than that. It isn't necessarily that the company predicts you are pregnant, they just see that "people that buy this item are more likely to buy these items" and so advertise for them. I believe Target did target pregnancy specifically in their algorithms though.