Shoppers with a Tesco Clubcard are being warned – or they could be, by their Clubcard in future.
The supermarket giant’s boss has revealed how he hopes to use AI in future to ‘nudge’ customers into healthier eating habits.
Tesco boss Ken Murphy says the chain has big plans to use Artificial Intelligence to customise shoppers’ experiences, flag up deals, and try to get them to make healthier choices.
Speaking at the FT’s Future of Retail summit, Mr Murphy talked up the supermarket’s plans, as he admitted it could have privacy implications.
He said: “I can see it nudging you, saying: ‘look, I’ve noticed over time that in your shopping basket your sodium salt content is 250% of your daily recommended allowance.
“I would recommend you substitute this, this and this for lower sodium products to improve your heart health.”
He added: “It can start nudging you to say if you wait another week to buy this, this is coming on deal.
“It can help to bring your shopping bill down, reduce waste and improve the outcome and the power of that Clubcard.
“It will completely revolutionise how customers interact with retailers”.
But he admitted: “It sees how you buy and it deduces who you’re buying for. It probably knows the age of your kids, knows the gender of your kids.”
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 said this was “very simple stuff” which could “really improve people’s daily lives”.
Tesco has said it does not “sell or share any individual customer data and we take our responsibilities regarding the use of customer data extremely seriously”.
It stressed it was not currently looking at rolling out a “nudge” policy.
