Tesco shoppers vow to 'ditch' Clubcards over supermarket's 'creepy' new plans

A former Tesco employee has revealed eleven gripes they have over customers - that they haven't been able to publicly say
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Tesco shoppers have been left unimpressed by the supermarket's suggestion that AI could be used to 'nudge' customers towards healthier food choices.

Chief executive Ken Murphy said Clubcard data could be used to warn customers when their baskets are becoming unhealthy and suggest healthier alternative options.

Shoppers, however, seem sceptical of the idea and have blasted the supermarket for 'interfering' with their shopping choices. Some have even vowed to 'ditch' their Clubcards and shop elsewhere, describing the new plans as 'creepy' and 'dystopian'.

READ MORE: Tesco could 'warn shoppers' against buying unhealthy food by 'using Clubcard data'

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Speaking at the FT Future of Retail Conference on Tuesday, Mr Murphy said he could see the AI technology "nudging you over time". Giving an example of what a prompt might look like, he said: "I’ve noticed over time in your shopping basket that your sodium salt content is 250 per cent of your daily recommended allowance. I would recommend you substitute this, this and this."

Mr Murphy said the aim was for customers to feel that “Clubcard is literally doing their job for them and making their lives easier”. He added: "It can help to bring your shopping bill down, reduce waste and improve the outcome and the power of that Clubcard."

However, Tesco customers suggested the plans could be less about making the nation healthier and more about pointing customer's towards higher priced foods. Many said Tesco should be lowering the price of healthier options to encourage more people to buy them, rather than using AI.

In a discussion on Reddit, one user said: "I'll believe their good intentions when they make healthy food more affordable than junk food." Another echoed the sentiment, saying: "I'm guessing that they decided this'd be easier than just lowering the price of healthy food, right?"

On X, formerly Twitter, another person said: "They should make healthier food more affordable! I’m well aware of what I’m buying but I’m restricted by budget. They can use their obscene profit margins to lower the costs." Another added: "Sounds ok in theory, in practice it will increase profits as customers are nudged towards higher priced options!"

Shoppers can earn Clubcard points by spending at Tesco stores
Tesco's chief executive said AI “will completely revolutionise how customers interact with retailers” -Credit:Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Some shoppers said they did not like the idea of a supermarket telling them what to do. One described the move as "nanny state interference" and said: "How about the authoritarian health fanatics mind their own business regarding what other people choose to eat or drink."

One shopper said the idea sounded "very dystopian", while another commented: "Tracking lives and helpful hints has gone too far. There’s something quite creepy about it."

"I think most shoppers can make up their own minds when it comes to buying healthier options, and they don't need to be nudged into doing it," another person wrote.

Others went as far as saying they would no longer shop at Tesco if the plans came to light. "The day a business starts telling me how to live my life is the day I don’t use that business," one person commented.

Another suggested the prompts could be 'triggering' to some people. They said: "First time they do it to me, I will ditch my Clubcard. I am a fully grown adult and know exactly what I am buying and what it will do to me. How do they know they won't trigger anxiety into someone that may need certain foods for medical reasons?"

Tesco, which is Britain’s largest supermarket, said it does not "sell or share any individual customer data", adding: "We take our responsibilities regarding the use of customer data extremely seriously". The retailer also stressed that it is not looking at rolling out a 'nudge' policy at this time.

Businessman and food campaigner Henry Dimbleby, who led the government’s national food strategy, told the BBC’s Today programme that Tesco is not the first supermarket to look at using customers' data in this way. He said one supermarket previously trialled a similar idea but the stores "lost profitability, so they couldn’t roll it out".

Asked if he thought customers would welcome their data being looked at in this way, Mr Dimbleby said: "Their data is being looked at in this way whether they like it or not. They’re constantly being marketed to, they’re constantly having often – whether it’s online, whether it’s on social media – unhelpful and destructive attempts to change their behaviour. And the work we did suggested that people are quite up for being helped to be healthier."

Professor Susan Michie, director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London, also told the Today programme: "This in general is very good in terms of people’s health, because, especially things like salt content, people often have no idea. However, it’s really important that people be told what technology is being used in what way and for what purposes. So transparency’s really important."