[roc]

> "I doubt there would be a scene, only me embarrassing myself by probably dragging out some kind of justification of not wanting to hand over my details. Perhaps it's down to being schooled in implicit compliance, and it feels a little weird!"

I've been asked and politely declined probably hundreds of times by now. It's never led to any further interaction beyond my simply smiling and saying "no thank you".

The cashiers don't question it, or stare, or even miss a beat. (sometimes a 'new' person will hesitate for a second; thrown off their muscle memory pattern). But surely they hear it from more people than just me.

And I find making a shopping list beforehand, based on what I've actually used since the last trip, is more effective than coupons or loyalty cards. The coupons did start getting more properly-targeted, but they also entice purchases I hadn't previously had on my list. Which calls into question the notion of having 'saved' any money.

Similarly when I would be 'saving' money on things that are only useful when I purchase its non-special-/non-coupon-priced complements (e.g. a coupon for hotdogs leading to a purchase of regular priced buns; or a coupon for peanut butter leading to a purchase of regular-priced jelly).