TRU Coupon Book

[brubeck]

I got a TRU coupon book a couple of days ago for their big toy sale which starts this weekend. On the outside there was an extra sheet which had a personalized coupon on the back (lower right corner). My coupon had my family name on it and it is for $10 off a $100 purchase.

My neighbor has twins and she got the same book, only her personalized coupon is $25 off $250. She is really angry because she does not want to spend this much and feels like she is being ripped off of the 10% discount that I will be getting by spending only $100.

So I was just curious, what other coupons did people get? Is hers much worse because she has twins? If so, why is it more than twice as bad?

[egoldber]

TRU/BRU keeps a database on people based on their phone numbers. There's a sign right by the check out that explains it. That's why they always ask you your phone # at the check out. They base their mailings to you on your spending habits, the kinds of things you buy, how often you shop, if you use coupons, etc. Since she has twins, they "know" she spends a lot and are probably trying to entice her to spend more. Yes, Big Brother is out there, and he's the VP of Marketing.

[brubeck]

But they never ask me for my phone number at TRU, only at BRU. Weird.

Of course if they wanted this information all they would have to do is track my purchases through my TRU credit card and the certificates from it that I redeem.